Colgate Soulmate
by Fes
Summary: COMPLETE.Haley James, Grammy nominated rock star, leaves LA to spend a month with her brother and dad in Tree Hill, NC. It's never easy to make new friends and hang out with your annoying brother while trying to cope with everything you left behind.Naley.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, everyone! I'm excited to be back with my new story. I hope you like this as much as my previous one "The Fast and the Furious". Anyways, please read and review. :)

Colgate Soulmate

Chapter 1

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have now landed to Tree Hill, North Carolina. The weather is sunny and warm and local time is 10.30 pm. We hope you enjoyed your flight and have a pleasant stay."

Haley James woke up when a flight attendant shook her lightly.

"Miss James, we have landed." Haley opened her eyes.

"We're here already? What time is it?" she asked yawning.

"It's 10.30 pm. Do you need any help with your luggage, Miss James?"

"No, I'm good. But thank you." She said politely and smiled.

"If you don't mind me saying, I really loved your latest album. My daughter and I listen to it all the time." Haley smiled at the woman.

"Thank you. Oh, and please call me Haley. I'm not even 18 yet." Haley said and winked. The flight attendant laughed and left.

"And I just want you to know that I'm really sorry about your break up." She said and left. Haley sighed and got up from her seat.

She took her purse and guitar case from the closet and put her 'Real Madrid' cap on. She dug a pair of sunglasses from her purse and put them on. She looked down at her clothes. Sweat pants and a tank top. Her normal flight clothes. They were comfortable and most importantly normal. She wanted to blend in.

Haley left the plane and looked around for the paparazzi. She didn't see any which she thanked the god for. She smiled in happiness and went to get her luggage. She left the terminal and waited by the front doors for her ride. She looked at her watch and saw that it was past 11 pm already. Her brother was supposed to pick her up at 11.

"Haley James?" someone asked. Haley turned around and expected to find her brother or father but instead she only saw a big flash. A flash she had gotten used to already. The flash of a camera. Haley blinked her eyes in annoyance and glared at the reporter.

"So, what are you doing in North Carolina?" the man asked while snapping more pictures. Haley tried to turn her back to him but he kept circling around her.

"You visiting your father?" the man asked but didn't wait for her answer. "When was the last time you saw him? How are you handling the break up from your boyfriend? Is your heart broken? Did you really catch him in bed with your manager? Do you mind if I take a few pictures?" Again he didn't wait for her answer.

Haley went back inside the airport and ran as quickly as she could with her luggage to the women's bathroom. She locked the door and took her cell phone out of her purse. She dialled her brother's number.

"Yo, leave a message, bitch." Haley rolled her eyes and waited for the beep.

"Hey, it's me." Haley started after she heard the beep. "Haley, in case you didn't recognize, retard." Haley said sarcastically and continued. "Where the hell are you? Please, be somewhere near. I can't deal with these people right now. Call me when you get this." She hung up the phone.

Haley waited inside the bathroom about 10 or 15 minutes while trying to call her brother's cell, her dad's cell, her dad's work number and also the house number. No one answered. Haley sighed and got up from the floor where she had been sitting.

She looked herself in the mirror and pushed the sunglasses back on her face. She sighed and opened the door to find at least a dozen flashing lights. Haley blinked and started to walk towards the cab line. Whoever said that being a known singer was easy and always fun, was very badly mistaken.

Meanwhile

Lucas, Nathan, Brooke, Peyton, Jake, Tim, Mouth and the rest of their gang were partying yet again. It was the summer before their senior year so that was all the reason they needed for a party. It was mid July and they were planning on partying their entire summer vacation. So far, they had stuck to their plan.

Lucas and Nathan Scott were the infamous Scott brothers. They shared the same love for basketball and the hatred towards their father. They used to hate each other but when Lucas had joined the basketball team, they had gotten to be friends and in the end, brothers. Nathan went through girls like basketball socks. He had no intentions on settling down for as long as his hair wasn't grey.

Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer were the girls Lucas used to date, at the same time. For a while things were icy between them but Brooke learned to forget. They were both cheerleaders for the basketball team. Brooke was currently dating Lucas again and Peyton had found love from a guy named Jake Jaglieski.

Mouth was getting over his break up with Erica Marsh and Tim was currently looking for a girlfriend. Or a bed mate. Or whoever was available.

Lucas, Brooke, Jake, Peyton, Tim, Nathan and Mouth were sitting on the couches in the living room while all the other party-ers were forced to either stand by them or hang out in the kitchen. The music was loud and people were dancing in the living room.

Haley was sitting in the cab in front of her dad's house with an angry look on her face.

"The retard ditched me 'cause he has a party?" Haley muttered angrily. The cab driver turned to look at her.

"Did you say something?" Haley shook her head. "It's 21 dollars 50 cents." Haley handed him 30 dollars and got out of the cab. The driver came out also and handed her her luggage.

"Thank you." Haley said.

"Hey, aren't you that singer? Haley James?"

"Yes." Haley said.

"You're awesome. I saw you perform at the Grammy's."

"Thank you." Haley said and started to walk towards the front door. There were people dancing and drinking also outside the house. They watched Haley walk to the door. Haley could see people staring at her and whisper. She rolled her eyes annoyed and opened the front door. She left her stuff on the stairs and started to look for her brother. She went to the kitchen but didn't see him.

"Hey, you're that singer, aren't you." A guy asked from her. Haley nodded her head but didn't say anything. She walked to the living room but couldn't see anyone because the lights were almost out and there were so many people dancing in the middle of the room that they were blocking her view. People were starting to stop dancing and stare at her. Apparently they didn't know that Haley had family in Tree Hill.

Suddenly someone turned the music off and put the lights on. The whole room was staring at Haley.

"What the hell happened to the mu-" Tim asked while making his way through the crowd. He froze when he saw her.

"Haley." Tim said coldly. People turned to look at him surprised.

"Tim." They both glared at each other. The whole room was quiet and staring at them. "What the hell are you doing here?" Tim asked harshly.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same." Haley said coldly.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were supposed to pick me up an hour ago from the airport!"

"You were supposed to come next week!"

"I called here last week and Shari said you'd pick me up."

"She never said anything to me."

"That bitch." Haley muttered. Tim and Haley looked at each other for a while. When neither of them spoke for a while, Brooke, who was about to burst with curiosity, decided to ask the question everyone in the room was dying to know.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Haley looked at Tim with a mixture of hurt and surprise. He obviously hadn't told his friends about her. Tim looked at his friends and sighed.

"Haley's my sister." Tim said quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone gasped and a few people, mainly Tim's closest friends yelled 'what'. They hadn't even known he had a sister.

"What do you mean she's your sister?" Nathan asked while pushing the blonde hoe off of his lap when she was starting to suck his ear obviously not interested in the scene. "You don't have a sister."

"Yeah, I do." Tim said while rubbing his temples. He was starting to get a headache. Haley sighed annoyed.

"So, I take it dad's not here." Haley said annoyed. Tim shook his head. "I'll be in my room." Haley said and left the living room. She took her stuff and walked upstairs. When the people heard her slam her door shut, they started to talk, gossip and yell at the same time.

"Why didn't you tell us Haley James was your sister?"

"What's she doing here?"

"I love her music."

"So, is your last name James too?"

"Did she really catch her boyfriend in bed with her neighbour?"

"She's hot."

"Everyone shut up!" Tim yelled. His headache was getting worse and he was sick of all the people with their stupid questions. "Everyone out! This party's over." He said and glared at the people. They started to leave slowly.

"Do you want us to leave too?" Brooke asked and pointed at her, Lucas, Nathan, Peyton, Jake and Mouth.

"Naw, you can stay if you help me clean." He said and went to close the door when the last person left. Tim started to collect empty bottles. His friends looked at each other not really knowing what to do. They started to clean the living room too.

"So, do you want to talk about...?" Peyton asked from Tim.

"Not much to talk about. She's my sister." Tim said.

"Why didn't you tell anyone she's your sister?" Jake asked.

"I didn't even know you have a sister." Nathan said. Tim turned to look at him for a second.

"You never asked." He said and went back to cleaning the place. Nathan looked at his best friend and felt a bang of guilt. The others stayed quiet for the rest of the cleaning.

After Haley had slammed the door to her room she had immediately opened her suit case, taken her towel out and a long shower after that. After she showered she opened the TV in her room and started to go through the channels. After she discovered that there was nothing on, she decided to go downstairs and get something to eat. Haley went downstairs to the kitchen and saw Tim sitting by the counter with some of his friends.

"No party? People finally getting tired of you?" Haley asked when she got to the kitchen. Tim looked at her annoyed.

"Actually, they all saw you and wanted to leave." Tim said annoyed.

"Yeah, well at least some of your friends are still here." Haley said and turned to look at the others. She smiled to them all.

"Hey, I'm Haley." She said and extended her hand to them. One by one they introduced themselves to her.

"Nice to meet you'll." Haley said and opened the fridge. "Tim, when was the last time you went grocery shopping?"

"None of your business, cow." He said without turning to look at her.

"Pig." Haley said without turning around. She started to make herself a sandwich from the stuff she found from the fridge.

"So, what brings you to the beautiful state of North Carolina?" Brooke asked joking. Haley smiled to her.

"To see my dear brother, of course." Haley said but couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing while Tim looked at her annoyed. "Kidding. My mom... I mean, our mom left for a vacation for the first time in 7 years. She's backpacking through Europe for a month. She didn't wanna leave me home alone so she decided that I should spend my summer vacation with him." Haley said a sarcastically while looking at Tim.

"What does your mom do?" Jake asked when he realized he didn't know.

"She owns a night club." Tim said while glaring at Haley.

"So, your tour ended?" Peyton asked. Haley's smile faded a bit. She didn't want to talk about music, tour, her cheating bastard-of-an ex-boyfriend or anything related to that.

"Yeah, yesterday. Mom changed her schedule so she's leaving tomorrow already."

"Where do you live?" Nathan asked.

"Los Angeles." Haley said.

"Wow, that's so cool. I wish I knew someone who lives there." Peyton said smiling. Haley looked at her and the others with a weird face.

"Tim used to live there too." Haley reminded them.

"What? When?" Lucas asked.

"Before I moved here." Tim said.

"When did you move here?" Mouth asked.

"When I was 12." Tim said.

"We all used to live in Los Angeles but when our parents divorced, Tim and dad moved here." Haley explained. "For being Tim's friends, you don't know much about him." Haley said and Nathan looked down guiltily.

"So, do you see each other a lot?" Nathan asked.

"Once a year." Haley said.

"Too much, if you ask me." Tim said.

"I agree." Haley said while starting to eat her sandwich.

"We kinda have a love-hate relationship." Tim said when he saw the looks his friends were giving him.

"Without the love part." Haley said.

"Speaking of, how's your love life?" Tim asked glaring at her. Her friends gasped. For a split second Haley looked hurt by the mention of her cheating ex-boyfriend but she quickly covered from it.

"Fantastic. Jesse McCartney just asked me for lunch. How's your love life? Still no girlfriend?" she shot back. Tim just looked at her annoyed.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Slut."

"Retard."

"Whore."

"Man-whore." Haley said grinning.

"So, Haley. How old are you?" Mouth asked interrupting the fight.

"Same as Dim." Haley said laughing.

"So, you and Di- I mean Tim are twins?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, can you believe it?" Haley asked sarcastically.

"I'm 3 minutes older!" Tim said.

"Whatever, moron."

Haley and Tim continued to glare at each other.

Haley looked at the clock and ate the last bit of her sandwich.

"I'm off to bed. It was nice to meet you all. Tim, try not to bore your friends too much." She said laughing out loud. Tim showed her the finger. Haley just laughed harder.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Brooke asked. Haley smiled at her.

"I gotta make some phone calls in the morning but other than that I'm free. You got something on your mind?"

"I may have."

"Well, here's my cell number. Call me if you wanna hang out or something." Haley said and gave her number to Brooke. "Ok, I'm going to bed now. Good night, everyone." She said and started to walk away.

"Night." They all said. Haley left the kitchen and went upstairs. Tim's friends turned to look at him.

"She seems nice." Brooke said.

"Yeah, whatever." Tim said.

"I gotta get home." Peyton said and stood up. Jake stood up too.

"Yeah, we should go too." Brooke said and got up with Lucas.

"Mouth, you want a ride?" Lucas asked.

"Sure, if it's no problem." He said.

"Of course not. See you tomorrow, Tim." Brooke said.

"Wait, don't I get a ride?" Nathan asked.

"You live next door." Peyton said.

"Damn." He said laughing. "You want me to hang out with you?" Nathan asked from Tim.

"Up to you. I'm not tired yet."

"NBA Live 2005?" Nathan asked. Tim grinned at him.

"Prepare for total domination."

"Just say you're gonna win, Tim."

"I'm gonna win."

"Atta boy."

-----------

So, how was it? Good? Bad? Please review. :)

-Fes-


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, I'm back with an update. I'm currently suffering from a huge hangover so I apologize for any typos etc. Thank you so much for all the reviews. They are the reason I'm out of bed and updating. Anyways, enjoy the story and don't forget to review. Oh, and don't drink. Don't ever drink.

Chapter 2

It was 10.30 am when Tim and Nathan woke up in Tim's basement. They TV was still on and they were holding the controllers.

"Dude, wake up." Tim said and shook Nathan a bit.

"What time is it?" Nathan asked with a sleepy voice when he woke up.

"It's 10.30." Tim said.

"So early..." he said but got up anyways. They went to find something from the kitchen. Haley was sitting on the kitchen stool her back towards them. She was typing something on her lap top while talking on her cell phone and eating a bagel.

"No, listen to me, mom. Jason said he sent the contract to you and you should sign it, not me... Because I'm still a minor... He also said that we should discuss the next fall... Mom, I don't think I can handle another tour in the same year... Ok, talk to you later... I will... Love you, too. Bye."

"Trouble in paradise?" Tim asked after Haley put her phone back on the table. Haley turned to look at Tim and Nathan.

"Why, did you lose your 'My Little Pony' –collection?"

"I hate you."

"Good morning to you too, idiot. Mom said hi." Haley said to Tim. She turned to look at Nathan. "Nathan, right?" Nathan nodded and Haley continued. "You know, we do have three guest rooms in this house. No need to sleep on the couch." She said grinning. Nathan grinned back.

"So, what are you boys up to today?" Haley asked.

"Nothing that concerns you, bitch."

"Ouch." Haley said and held her heart while faking hurt.

"Probably some basketball at my house." Nathan said.

"You live close?"

"Next door." Nathan said smiling.

"Alright, neighbour." Haley said and high-fived him. Tim looked at Nathan and Haley with a suspicious look. Haley's cell phone started to ring. She looked at the called id and sighed in frustration.

"Hi Jack... No, you gotta talk to my mom... No, I'm not coming back, I just frigging got here!... Call my mom!" Haley yelled and ended the call. "Moron." She said while putting the phone back to the table.

"You should just go back to LA. No one wants you here." Tim said annoyed. Haley just laughed and patted Tim on his head.

"No need to be so sweet, Timmy. It's just me." Haley said and started to leave.

"Don't call me Timmy!" he yelled after her but she was gone already. "God, she annoys me!" Tim said and started to find something to eat.

"Why do you two hate each other so much? She seems cool and you're my best friend so you _gotta_ be cool." Nathan said laughing.

"We just don't get along." Tim said and made them breakfast. After they ate they decided to go play some basketball on Nathan's basketball court.

Haley left the kitchen and went to her room to change into something more comfortable. She took her guitar, sunglasses, cell phone, some paper and pen and decided to go outside. She went to the backyard and sat on the porch swing and started to play a song she had been working on while writing down some words and phrases that came to her head.

Haley didn't know how long she had been playing, she always lost the track of time, but sometime after noon she got interrupted by Tim.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Haley James the rock star working on her new album." Haley looked up from her papers and guitar and saw Tim standing there next to Nathan while holding a basketball in his hands. They were both shirtless and sweaty. While the sight of a sweaty Tim grossed Haley out, the sweat only made Nathan look sexier. Haley shook her head a bit and tried to concentrate on Tim.

"What do you want, loser?" Haley asked finally.

"Nothing from you."

"Good. Beat it." Haley said and turned her attention back to her guitar. Tim grinned at himself and looked at Haley.

"It's my house." Tim said.

"No, it's our dad's house. Speaking of which, where the hell is he?"

"Gone. And so should you." Tim said and walked past her. Nathan followed him into the kitchen.

"Dude, that was rude." Nathan said when he took a coke from the fridge.

"Dude, stay out of this." Tim snapped and opened his can of soda. Nathan looked at him surprised. Tim never snapped at him.

"You ready for second game?" Tim asked when they finished their cokes.

"Yeah, sure." Nathan said a bit tired. They started to walk towards the back door again. When they opened it, they didn't see Haley. Her guitar and notepad were on the swing but she was nowhere to be seen, until they looked towards the pool.

"What the fuck..." Tim mumbled when he started to walk towards the pool. He followed Tim until they got to the edge of the pool. Haley was swimming laps not noticing that they were standing on the edge. Suddenly Nathan didn't feel tired at all.

"Haley!" Tim yelled. Haley stopped swimming and looked at him irritated.

"What!"

"What are you doing!"

"Trying to catch butterflies, what the fuck does it look like I'm doing, retard!" Haley snapped.

"That's my swimming pool."

"It's dad's swimming pool. We already went through this."

"Well, I want you out of it!"

"Or else?" Haley asked and threw some water on him.

"That's it! Out!" Tim said and pointed at the ladders at the end of the pool. Haley rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Don't think so, Dim." She said and started to swim slowly. Nathan could see that Tim was starting to lose it so he decided to help him out a bit.

"Haley, if I were you, I'd probably get out." Nathan said smiling a bit.

"Why's that?" she said without stopping.

"He had sex with a girl in there." Nathan said. Haley stopped swimming and turned to look at him.

"You serious?"

"Dead." He said grinning.

"Nope, I don't believe you. And you wanna know why? Because no girl would have sex with him." Haley said.

"Well, actually he was _imagining_ that he was having sex with someone while he was in there." Nathan said.

"Eew! Eew! Eew! Eew! Eew!" Haley yelled while swimming towards the end of the pool as fast as she could.

"What the hell, man?" Tim asked from Nathan. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"You wanted her out of the pool, right?" Nathan asked and turned to look at Haley who was out of the water now. She was wearing normal black bikinis that weren't even that revealing but nevertheless sexy in Nathan's mind.

"Whatever." Tim said and started to walk towards the basketball court. Nathan stood by the pool not moving. Haley turned to look at him.

"Hand me the towel?" Nathan blinked and turned to grab the towel that was behind him. He handed the towel to her but let his hands stay on it a little bit longer than necessary. Haley turned to look at him in the eyes and found herself staring at the brightest pair of blue eyes she'd ever seen.

"Nate! You coming!" Tim yelled when he realized that his friend wasn't following. Haley quickly took the towel and wrapped it around herself. Nathan coughed and mumbled something before running after Tim. Haley looked after him and sighed. She went to sit on her beach towel that was on the grass by the pool where her stuff was.

She laid down on her back and put her sunglasses on. Suddenly her cell phone started to ring. She checked the caller id but didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" Haley didn't hear anything except breathing. "Hello?" she asked again. Haley ended the call and concentrated on getting tanned again.

Few minutes later her cell phone rang again.

"Hello?" she answered. Again only breathing. Haley sighed in frustration and ended the call. About five seconds later it rang again. Haley sat up and answered the phone angrily.

"Listen to me you asshole! I don't know where you got this number but if you call me one more time, I will call the fucking cops, got it!" Haley yelled. There was a short silence.

"Umh, _you_ gave this number to me." A voice said from the other end.

"Brooke?" Haley asked recognizing the voice.

"Yeah, do you always answer your phone like that?" she asked joking. Haley laughed at the phone.

"Sorry, I though you were someone else. So, what's up?" Haley asked changing the subject.

"Nothing, Peyton and I were just wondering what you were doing?"

"The only thing you can do on a Sunday morning in the middle of the summer." Haley said smiling. "Get a tan." Brooke started laughing. "You guys should come here." Haley said.

"You alone?"

"Dim and Nathan are playing ball next door."

"Alright, we'll be there soon."

"See you then."

"Bye, Haley." Haley turned the phone off and laid back. About 15 minutes later Peyton and Brooke came holding towels.

"What's up?" Brooke said and sat down next to her. Haley took her sunglasses off and smiled at the girls. Peyton and Brooke took their shirts and shorts off revealing bikinis and sat down next to her.

"Nothing, just trying to get a tan." Haley said. Brooke and Peyton looked at her pale skin.

"Yeah, you could really use some." Brooke said laughing.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I haven't really gotten time till now." Haley said.

"We called Jake who's Peyton's boyfriend and Lucas, who is my boyfriend and told them to come here too. Remember them from last night? But don't worry, they won't interrupt our girl talk, they will just come and play with Tim and Nathan." Brooke said.

"Yeah, that's cool."

"So, tell us something." Brooke said excited.

"Tell you what?"

"Anything. Gossip about celebrities, dirty rumors, anything." Brooke said grinning. Haley rolled her eyes and laughed.

"I don't really know anything." She said smiling.

"Oh, don't give us that." Brooke said grinning.

"I really don't know and even if I did, my lips would be sealed." Haley said smiling.

"So, you are our age, right. So you must be a senior." Peyton said changing the subject.

"Yeah, but it doesn't really matter."

"Home-schooled?" Peyton asked.

"Since 8th grade." Haley said and tried to hide her sadness.

"That must suck." Brooke said.

"Yeah, I guess." She said and closed her eyes and laid back to let them know she didn't want to talk about it. Brooke and Peyton looked at each other and simultaneously decided to drop the subject.

"So do you have a lot of famous friends?" Brooke asked with her eyes gleaming.

"Do I smell a gold-digger?" Peyton asked laughing. Brooke hit Peyton lightly.

"I am perfectly happy with Lucas, thank you very much. But if he decides to suddenly get rich and famous, I wouldn't mind." Brooke said.

"Well, good to know." Lucas said from behind Brooke. Brooke turned around and kissed Lucas. Peyton did the same with Jake.

"You both remember Haley, right?" Peyton asked from the boys. Then she turned to Haley. "Jake and Lucas, in case you forgot."

"Nice to meet you again."

"You too, so we're gonna go play ball." Lucas said and kissed Brooke again. "Behave." He said and smiled when Brooke giggled. The guys went to play and girls stayed and tanned while gossiping about everything possible.

About 45 minutes later the guys came from Nathan's yard to where the girls were lying.

"How was the game?" Peyton asked after Jake gave her a kiss.

"Good."

"Eew, you're all sweaty." Brooke said when Lucas laid down next to her.

"Just the way you like it." He said.

"Eew, guys. Please, other people within 20 feet." Nathan said disgusted.

"You guys hungry?" Peyton asked.

"Always." Haley said smiling.

"Wanna order pizza?" Brooke asked while taking her cell phone out. Everyone agreed and Brooke called them the pizzas. Nathan and Tim sat down on the grass also. They all stayed quiet for a while.

"Tim, where's dad?" Haley asked directly from him. Tim thought about saying something mean but was too tired.

"In Barbados."

"Great." Haley muttered annoyed that her dad hadn't called and put her sunglasses on. "Why the hell didn't he let me know?"

"Because everything is about you?" He asked annoyed. Haley looked at him with a matching face.

"No, because it would've been nice to know so I wouldn't have come a week too fucking early." She said.

"Well, what's stopping you from leaving, bitch?"

"Mom deserves a vacation and I'm not gonna be the one to ruin it." she said. Tim stayed quiet for a while.

"How's she doing?" Tim asked nonchalantly.

"She's good." Haley said.

"Good." Tim said. Haley's cell phone rang again. She looked at the caller id and saw that it was the stalker's number.

"Shit..." she mumbled. She decided that she didn't want to answer it in front of her friends.

"Listen, guys. I should go back inside." She said and got up with her cell phone on her hand.

"What? But the pizzas are not even here yet." Nathan said while staring at Haley's body.

"That's ok, I'm not that hungry. See you guys later." She said and practically ran inside the house. Once she was inside she answered the phone.

"Hello?" she asked but heard only the breathing. "Listen to me, you jerk. I'm really starting to get sick of this." Haley said and listened but didn't hear anything except the breathing. "One more call and I _will _call the cops, asshole." Haley said and hung up.

"Are you alright?" Brooke asked behind Haley. Haley turned around and saw Brooke and Peyton holding her stuff.

"Yeah, just great." She said.

"You forgot your stuff." Peyton said while handing her stuff to her.

"Thanks." She said quietly.

"What was that about?" Brooke asked while trying to read Haley's face.

"Nothing." She mumbled.

"That was obvi-" Brooke said but got cut off by the doorbell.

"That must be the pizza guy." Haley said relieved and started towards the front door. She set her stuff on the floor and took her wallet out before opening the front door.

"Two cheese pizzas and one pepp-" he stopped in mid air when he saw who was standing in front of him. "Hey! You're that singer!" he said. Haley tried to give him the money. The guy didn't even notice that.

"Haley something! You got cheated by that dude, right? Yeah, it was on ET on MTV. James! That was your last name, James. Haley James. I can't believe you're here and I'm here and you're in bikinis and I have no camera-"

"Listen, do you want the money or not?" Haley asked annoyed and hurt by the mention of her cheating son-of-a-bitch ex-boyfriend.

"Yeah, sure. It's 5,50. Celebrity discount." He said and winked. Haley gave him a ten and took the pizzas from his hand.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked. Haley thought of slamming the door to his face and let him make his own conclusions but she knew that it would've been on the cover of US Magazine the next week if she would've done it.

"Visiting my brother." She said and slammed the door shut. "God!" she yelled annoyed once the door was closed.

"You ok?" Brooke asked. Haley turned to look at her and Peyton who were looking at her with worried looks.

"Yeah, I'm good." She said and smiled. "Here are your pizzas." She said and gave them to Peyton.

"You know, you should come back outside and eat with us." Peyton said.

"I'll pass." She said. "I gotta call my mom. Besides, my face feels like it might sun burn soon." Haley said and went to the patio to get her guitar and notepad. Brooke and Peyton followed her.

"You sure? We can diss Tim together." Brooke suggested smiling. Haley smiled and looked at the guys who still sitting by the pool.

"Naw, maybe some other time." She said and took her guitar and went back inside.

She went to her room with her stuff and turned the TV on only to find herself staring at the cover of her latest album.

_"...her new album "What's Mine Is Yours" hit number one in the charts. But other things are not going so well for her. As Star magazine reported, apparently Miss James caught her boyfriend of two years, Chris Keller, in bed with his tour manager. We have not been able to get in touch with Keller or James but we did catch Miss James in an airport in North Carolina where she was reported to go visit her family. James's and Keller's tour had just ended. They were an incredible duo and their tour was a huge success. Who knows what will happe-"_

Haley turned the TV off and sighed in sadness while wondering how the hell she would get over the bastard named Chris Keller. She looked outside the window at the 6 people and realized that they had become her best friends in less than a day. She sighed at the thought.

"Pathetic."

* * *

So, how was it? Hopefully not as bad as I feel like. :) 

-Fes-


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, everyone and merry Christmas (or happy hanukkah... whatever your holiday is). :) How was everyone's Christmas? We celebrate it in Finland on the 24th so yesterday was the big day for us. Thank you ALL for the awesome reviews! You guys are the best!Anyways, moving on with the story. Here's chapter 3. :) Read and review, please.

Chapter 3

It had been one week since Tim's party. Every day was the same for Haley. She played with her guitar writing songs for few hours. After that Brooke and Peyton came over to keep her company while the guys played basketball.

The evenings and nights Haley spent hanging out with Nathan and Tim in the basement where they were playing NBA 2005. She couldn't spend enough time with them ever because Tim always kicked her out but things were getting better between them. Sure, they fought all the time but it was getting less and less serious. They even laughed at the same joke Nathan told them.

"Hello?" Haley answered the house phone. "Hey, mom! Where are you?... Bon jour, to you too!... It's been ok... No, we haven't fought... I'm not lying... OK, so maybe just a little... He's playing basketball with Nathan... Yes, he's nice... Yeah, he's cute... Oh, shut up, mom... Love you too... Yeah, I'll tell him... Miss you!" Haley said and hung up the phone laughing. Her mom always knew how to make her smile.

Haley went outside and jumped over the fence that separated the Scott and the Smith yards. Haley smirked when she saw Nathan and Tim playing ball. Since it was one of the hottest weeks of the year, they were both shirtless.

Haley had seen Nathan without a shirt many times for the past week and every time he seemed to have the same affect on her. Sweaty hands, a racing heart, butterflies on the stomach...

But Haley was realistic. She knew nothing could happen. She lived in Los Angeles, Nathan in Tree Hill. She probably had a second tour coming in the fall and she didn't believe in long distance relationships. And besides, she was certain that Nathan didn't even like her that way. He was just fascinated that she knew so many famous people.

If only she had known better...

"What's up, Haley?" Nathan asked when he saw her walking towards them. "Wanna play some ball?" he asked and handed the ball to her.

"You kidding?" Haley asked when she got the ball and almost dropped it. "I suck at basketball."

"Oh, you can't be worse then Tim." Nathan said while laughing. Tim threw his sweaty shirt at him.

"Very funny, Scott." Nathan dodged the sweaty short in horror. He did not want to get attacked by Tim's disgusting shirt. He kicked the shirt off the field and watched Haley bounce the ball a bit.

"You can score." Tim said to Haley.

"What planet are you living in? I can play guitar and piano. But basketball? Not if my life depended on it." she said laughing and threw the ball at Tim who caught it easily.

"Yeah, you can't play the game, but you can do a free throw." Tim insisted.

"Tim, do you remember that one Christmas in LA when you tried to play against me and I ended up throwing the ball from the 26th floor?" Haley asked.

"What!" Nathan asked in horror. "You could've hurt someone."

"Yeah, thank god for that one car that was parked below the window."

"It was a police car."

"Ooh, that's right. Mom talked us out of charges by giving the man 4 VIP-tickets to her club." Tim said remembering.

"Yeah, so you see my point?" Haley asked.

"No wait, it was that other Christmas. The first one with the She-devil."

"When was that?" Haley asked in confusion.

"Like 3 years ago. You were so bored that you were willing to play against me and I taught you-"

"-to do a free shot." Haley finished when she remembered.

"Free throw." Nathan and Tim said.

"Whatever." She said. Tim handed the ball back to Haley.

"Show us what you got." Nathan said grinning. Haley smiled a bit and went to stand on the free throw line. And with a smooth granny style, she scored.

"I told you you can still do it." Tim said while bouncing the ball.

"You taught her _granny style_?"

"Nate, my friend. Haley is the most un-sporty person in the world. She flunked P.E in fourth grade." Tim said.

"He's right." Haley said while trying to throw the ball through the net. She missed the whole basket and almost broke the garage window. Nathan quickly went to get the ball.

"I believe you." He said while getting the ball and protecting it from Haley. Nathan heard the house phone ring and went to answer it.

"Anyways, mom called." Haley said to Tim when Nathan disappeared inside his house. Tim bounced the ball but turned to look at her.

"Really? How's she?"

"Good. She's in France. Wanted to know what we wanted for our birthday." Haley said. Tim lost the control of the ball and sighed

"I don't want anything." He said and picked the ball up from the ground.

"What are you talking about?" Haley said smiling.

"I don't need anything." Tim said.

"Oh, don't give me that crap. Even _I_ want something." Haley said.

"What _do_ you want?" Tim asked.

"From mom?" Haley asked. Tim nodded. "A hot French guy, of course. What else?" Haley said joking.

"Funny." Tim said laughing.

"I know." Haley said and winked. Nathan came back that moment. He was followed by Peyton, Jake, Lucas and Brooke.

"Hey guys. What are you doing here?" Tim asked. They usually never hung out at Nathan's because they didn't want to run into Dan.

"No one answered the door so we tried Nathan's." Peyton said.

"You could've just come straight to the backyard." Haley said.

"That's what I said." Brooke said and glared at Lucas, Jake and Peyton.

"We didn't want to be rude." Peyton said and laughed at Brooke's expression.

"From now on, no need to knock." Tim said.

"So, who was on the phone?" Lucas asked from Nathan. Nathan had opened the door for the four while he was talking to someone on the phone.

"Actually, it was Peter." Nathan said while looking at Tim and Haley. Tim and Haley looked at him in surprise.

"Our dad? What did he want?" Tim asked.

"No one answered at your home so he called here. Wanted to let you know he's coming back tomorrow."

"Alone..?" Tim asked hopefully.

"With Shari." Nathan said. Haley huffed in disgust.

"Shari... How is that golddigging skank-of-a stepmother doing these days?" Haley asked from Tim.

"Still trying to convince dad to undo the prenup." Tim said disgusted.

"Any luck?"

"She's still married to him, isn't she." Tim said and smiled at her a bit. Dissing Shari seemed to be the only thing the two agreed on.

"You know, I bet that bitch didn't even tell dad that I'd come one week early."

"Wouldn't be surprised." Tim said.

"Is she really that bad?" Peyton asked.

"Worse." Haley and Tim said at the same time.

"She hates everyone who stands in front of her money." Tim said disgusted.

"Yep and since we are actually blood-related to dad she can't stand us." Haley said.

"Remember when Uncle Wayne died and she went to party because it was one less person on dad's will?"

"She bought first class tickets to Vegas and gambled 15 000 dollars." Haley said angrily. "Let's not talk about the skank anymore. Makes me wanna strangle someone." Haley said.

"Know the feeling." Tim muttered. Haley looked at him smiling.

"Hey, speaking of partying, how are we gonna celebrate our birthday?" Haley asked. Tim looked around embarrassed while his friends looked surprised.

"Tim, I didn't know you have a birthday coming." Brooke said.

"Yeah, me neither." Nathan confessed.

"You _really_ don't know much about him, do you." Haley said again and turned to Tim. "So, how do you wanna celebrate?"

"I don't know." Tim said unenthusiastically.

"Oh, come on. Throw a big party like always." Nathan said.

"I don't care, whatever." He said.

"Well, then it's up to me that the Smith twins will have a proper 18th birthday party." Haley said her eyes gleaming.

"Wait, so is your last name Smith or James?" Brooke asked confused.

"I'm really a Smith, like Tim. I didn't want to use my real last name as my artist name. Mom's maiden name is James so I just used that." Haley explained.

"We can help you with the party, if you want." Brooke offered.

"Yeah, sure. Oh, we're definitely gonna need live music." Haley said.

"At our house?" Tim asked.

"No, we're not having the party at our house, stupid." Haley said smiling.

"Then where?" Lucas asked.

"Well, we need to rent a night club or a bar or something like that. Got any possible places here?" Haley asked and wondered why they were all grinning.

"I partly own a nightclub slash a bar slash a café slash whatever you want it to be." Peyton said smiling.

"Really? Do you think I could rent it for one night?"

"Yeah, of course. When's the big day?"

"August 8th so in about 2 weeks." Haley said.

"Yeah, I'm sure we're available that night." Peyton said.

"Good."

"So, when are you going back to LA?" Tim asked. Haley laughed.

"Trying to get rid of me already?"

"Always." He said smiling.

"Well, for your information, I'm leaving a week after our birthday." Haley said.

"Already?" Brooke asked.

"Yep, that's when mom comes back." Haley said smiling. "But before that, I will throw one kick ass party." She said grinning. Everyone cheered. "But I'm gonna need some help with the food, decorations, etc." Haley said. Brooke waved her hands in the air while grinning madly.

"Me! Me! I want to help! Me!" Brooke yelled enthusiastically.

"Have you ever seen the movie Madagascar?" Haley asked grinning. Nathan started to laugh out loud while the rest of them stared at them with weird looks on their faces.

"No, I haven't. Why?" she asked.

"Never mind." Haley said while still laughing with Nathan. Apparently they were the only two who had seen it.

"Anyways, Peyton and I will help you, right?" Brooke asked from Peyton.

"Yeah, whatever you need."

"Ooh, a project!" Haley said and clapped her hands enthusiastically.

"You're crazy." Tim said.

"That I am."

"I gotta go buy some food from the store." Tim said.

"Why now?" Haley asked.

"Dad left me 100 bucks for food and if he sees that there's no food on the fridge, he'll flip." Tim said.

"Go, go! I want some real food!" Haley said excited.

"Oh, I'm not going yet. We're not done with the game." Tim said.

"Well, how about you guys stay here while me, Haley and Peyton go shopping." Brooke said.

"Fine by me." Tim said.

"Fantastic." Brooke said and started to drag Peyton and Haley towards the car.

-------

"I don't know about this... Maybe I should just wait in the car." Haley said from the back seat while Brooke was parking the car in front of the store.

"Why?" Peyton asked.

"I have spent the whole week inside the house. I don't know if I'm ready for the public yet." She said quietly.

"You're gonna have to face them sooner or later." Brooke said softly. "But if you're not ready yet, we understand." She said. Haley thought about it for a moment.

"You're right, I can't hide forever. Let's go shopping!" she said while getting out of the car. She slammed the car door shut and started to walk towards the front door with Brooke and Peyton. When she opened the doors she instantly wished she had brought a pair of sunglasses of a hat or anything to cover her face. People were staring at her again. She took a deep breath.

"Let's get this over with." She said to herself and started to walk inside the store.

--------

"Finally some real food! I've been eating pizza and Chinese for the past week." Haley said while grabbing different items.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Lucas has been feeding me so much pizza that I feel I've gained like 10 pounds in a week."

"See, that's what I hate about guys." Peyton started. "They can eat whatever they want, whenever they want and they still don't gain a pound."

"It's the frigging metabolism." Brooke said. "Ooh, brownie mix." She said and grabbed the box from the shelf. Haley smiled at her. _This isn't so bad_ she thought. Sure, people were staring at her but nothing more than that.

"I guess this could be worse." Haley said to herself when they were walking towards the check-out counter. She was definitely right about that.

"Ooh, raisins..." Brooke mumbled while grabbing boxes from the shelf.

"Brooke, we don't need raisins." Peyton said laughing.

"So?" she asked.

"Why would you buy something we don't need?"

"You mean shopping for more useless crap isn't the meaning of life?" Peyton and Haley just laughed.

They walked to the back of the line and waited for their turn. People were whispering to each other and looking at Haley but she acted like nothing was wrong.

Haley gave some money to Peyton and Brooke who were by the check out. While waiting for the girls to pay their food Haley looked around. Her eyes stopped at the cover of Us Weekly. She felt the blood run out of her face.

People in the store looked at her and the cover of the magazine and started to whisper even louder. Haley took the magazine and stared at the picture and the headline.

_Chris Keller caught with another new girl._

The picture had Keller and some blonde girl in it. The girl was sitting on his lap, kissing him heavily and his hands were under her shirt. She wasn't even the same girl she caught Chris in bed with. Haley flipped the magazine with shaky hands until she reached the page with the article.

_Only few weeks after his break up from his long time girlfriend, Grammy-nominee Haley James, Chris Keller was seen with another new girl in a night club in Los Angeles. We were told that they were kissing heavily the entire night and that they left the club together. Few weeks earlier James had caught Keller with another girl and ended the relationship with him. The girl that was seen in the night club was not the same girl he cheated James with. Neither Keller nor James was reached for a comment._

Haley let the magazine drop to the floor. She could feel tears on the corner of her eyes and she quickly blinked them back. She was determined not to cry in front of all the other people. She was determined not to cry in front of anyone. In fact, she didn't cry. Ever. Being in the music business for so long had taught her that crying was for losers and losers didn't succeed.

She slowly picked up the magazine and put it back where she got it. She turned to look at Peyton and Brooke who were looking at her with concerned looks.

"We should go." Brooke said and put her arm loosely around Haley and started to guide her out of the store. They finally got to the car and opened the passenger side door for Haley. Brooke closed the door and went to put the groceries in the trunk with Peyton.

"Did you see her face?" Brooke whispered to Peyton.

"Yeah, what can we do?"

"Try to get her to talk, I guess." Brooke said and opened the driver's side door. Peyton went to sit on the back seat.

"Are you alright, Haley?" Peyton asked concerned.

"Me? Yeah, just peachy." She said and smiled weakly. They all knew it was lie and she knew that they knew.

"I'm really sorry for forcing you to go to the store with us." Brooke said guiltily.

"It wasn't your fault." She said and smiled weakly again. Brooke and Peyton still looked at her concerned.

"Seriously, I'm fine." She said. Brooke smiled a bit and turned the ignition on and radio started to blare.

_..dancing in my wooden shoes_

_and-_

Haley hit the car radio hard to change the channel.

"Like I said, just peachy."

* * *

So, how was it? I know it wasn't that long and much didn't happen but I hope it was worth your time. :) Anyways, let me know what you think about it. Enjoy the holidays! I'm working every day so it's not much of a holiday for me. Anyways, take care and remember to review. :)

-Fes-


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone, I'm back with an update! Thank you so much for all the awesome and kind reviews! You guys rock!

So, how was everyone's New Years Eve? I had a party which was mostly fun and successful. I've just got one thing I wanna say to the blonde bitch who puked on my floor twice: the next time I'll see you, I'll bitch-slap you so hard you won't get up, whore. And the same goes for the asshole who drank red wine and was too retard to not spill it all over my fucking apartment. Happy new year everyone:)

Anyways! On with the story. Don't forget to review.

* * *

Chapter 4

Brooke, Peyton and Haley didn't speak anything during the drive back from the grocery store. Haley was still in shock of the article and the pictures she saw. Brooke and Peyton just didn't know what to say.

When they pulled over to the Smith driveway, Haley got out slowly. She started to take the groceries out but Peyton stopped her.

"We got these." Haley nodded and went inside without saying anything. Peyton turned to look at Brooke.

"What the hell do we do?" Peyton whispered.

"First we take care of these bags and then we tell Tim." Brooke said and got two bags out. Peyton took the other two.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? They don't really get along." Peyton asked while opening the front door.

"He's her brother. He needs to know." Brooke whispered while walking towards the kitchen. They unloaded the bags and went outside to find the guys. They were cooling down in the pool after the game.

"Hey, did you get everything?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, we got everything." Peyton said and looked at Brooke.

"What's wrong?" Tim asked when he saw the looks on their faces.

"Where's Haley?" Nathan asked. Brooke sighed and turned to look at Tim again.

"You should go talk to her." Brooke said quietly. Tim got out of the pool quickly.

"What happened?" he asked while wrapping his towel around him. Brooke and Peyton looked at each other.

"What happened!" he asked a bit louder.

"Chris Keller was seen with _another_ new girl." Peyton said.

"What!" Tim asked.

"It was on the cover of Us and she saw it at the store." Brooke said. "There were pictures and everything." Brooke finished quietly.

"Shit... How did she take it?" Tim asked concerned.

"She said she's fine and it's ok, 'peachy' was the exact word she used, but you can tell she's not ok." Brooke said.

"Ok, I gotta go." He said and left. Brooke, Peyton, Jake, Lucas and Nathan looked at each other.

"What should we do?" Lucas asked.

"Maybe we should leave, give them some privacy." Jake suggested.

"We can't just leave them alone." Nathan argued.

"There's nothing we can do." Peyton said.

"Yeah, I agree." Lucas said and got up from the pool.

"So, you're all just gonna leave?" Nathan asked upset.

"Nate, we can't help her. She barely knows us, she doesn't want any advice from us." Lucas said. Nathan huffed in annoyance but got out of the pool too.

"See you guys later." He said and started to walk towards his own yard.

"Bye." They all yelled while making their way to their cars.

knock knock

"Hales, can I come in?" Tim asked. When he didn't hear anything, he opened the door to her room a little bit and peaked in. Haley was laying on her bed her back towards Tim.

"Haley?" Tim asked again. Haley still didn't answer. Tim went to sit on the bed and put his hand lightly on top of Haley's shoulder.

"Hey, you ok?" he whispered and looked at her face. Haley had her eyes closed and she was hugging her teddy bear fiercely. Haley opened her eyes and looked at Tim. She didn't say anything because if she did, she knew she would start crying. So she just nodded her head.

"I heard about the article... And I'm really sorry. Is there anything I can do?" Tim asked quietly. Haley kept her eyes closed but shook her head. It killed him to see her like that. He and Haley had gotten closer in the past week and it hurt him to know that she was hurting.

"I'm so sorry, Hales. So sorry." Tim said. Haley opened her eyes.

"Thanks, Timmy." Haley said and smiled weakly. Tim smiled back.

"Just this once, I'll let you call me that." Tim said. Haley chuckled.

"Ooh, I guess my ex should screw more girls more often." She said joking.

"Knowing him, he probably will." Tim said smiling. Haley smiled. Only she and Tim could make jokes about something like that so soon. No one ever understood their sense of humor.

"Thanks, Timmy." Haley said and smiled a genuine smile at him.

"So, you're ok?" Tim asked. Haley's smiled faded a bit.

"No, I'm not ok. Not even close." Haley said and sat up. She sighed deeply. "But I'm not gonna dwell on it anymore." She said.

"Good." He said.

"It's time to move on to the next phase." Haley said.

"Which is?"

"Anger." She said and got up. "And that includes writing angry songs about that cheating bastard-of-an ex-boyfriend. So, if you'll excuse me." She said and started to walk out of the room with her guitar and notepad. Tim smirked and followed her.

"I'm gonna go play NBA Live 2005 downstairs. Call me if you need anything, stupid." Tim said grinning.

"I'll be outside, loser." She said grinning too. Haley went to sit on the swing on the porch. She took a deep breath and let all the angry thoughts off Chris Keller take over.

After Brooke and the others had left, Nathan had gone back inside only to find the house empty and boring. He went back outside and played some ball by himself on the court hoping for Tim to come back outside with some good news about Haley.

Haley... She had been on his mind ever since the night he met her. There was just something about her... But he knew nothing could ever happen between them. Why the hell would Haley James be interested in him? He was a regular nobody and she was a rock star.

Nathan was in the middle of playing when he heard something. He grabbed the ball and listened harder. He could definitely hear music. He looked over the fence and saw Haley sitting on the porch playing her guitar. Nathan jumped over the fence and started to walk towards her. On his way there he wondered whether to disturb her or not. He decided to just find Tim and hang out with him.

"Hey, Nathan." Haley said when he noticed him.

"Hey." He said quietly and looked at her concerned. She didn't look sad but he could see that she looked tired. "You ok?" he asked.

"Just peachy. Writing a song." She said. "Wanna hear?" she asked.

"Umh, sure?" Nathan said not really knowing what to do or say.

"Sit down." She said and made room for Nathan to sit next to her. Haley cleared her throat and started to sing softly.

_"I trusted you and cared for you_

_I loved you, did all for you"_

Then her voice grew angrier.

_"Well I guess that meant shit!_

_Cause you cheated, you dick!"_

_I so don't fucking care_

_what the hell you wanna say!_

_I hope you whine and cry_

_before you slowly suffer and die._

_I hate you so frigging much_

_you motherfucking bi-atch_

_So here is all I want to say:_

_stay the fuck out of my way!"_ Haley finished the song angrily. Then she turned to look at Nathan with a sweet smile.

"So, how was it?" she asked cheerfully.

"Very good! Very emotional!" Nathan answered quickly while clapping his hands furiously. In reality, he was scared. When Haley had started the angry part, there was something in her eyes that frightened him. Haley grinned at him and put the guitar away.

"So, where's Brooke and the rest of the group?" Haley asked.

"They left." Nathan said.

"What? Why?" Haley asked.

"Wanted to give you some privacy."

"Oh, well that's nice but totally unnecessary." Haley said. "Or do I look upset to you?" Haley asked. Nathan swallowed. Just a minute ago she had been telling the world to piss off.

"No, of course not." He said quickly.

"Good." Haley said and smiled. They both were silent for a while.

"You know Haley, you shouldn't be sad because of some fucker like Chris." Nathan said. Haley turned to look at him surprised. "He doesn't deserve to make you sad or angry because of him. And he definitely doesn't deserve a song from you." Nathan said.

"I know." Haley said smiling a little. "It's just my way of coping, you know. When you're pissed off, worried or sad you play basketball, right?" Haley asked.

"Or beat Tim up."

"Me too." Haley said laughing. "But if Tim's not around, I just sing. It's soothing."

"Know the feeling..." Nathan said while looking at the basketball in his hands.

"How long have you played?"

"My dad decided to make me a basketball player about... 4 months before I was born." Nathan joked but Haley could tell that he wasn't kidding.

"Why then?"

"It was the day he found out I was a boy." Nathan said.

"Your dad sounds like a very... nice guy." Haley finished laughing.

"Yeah, nice is _just_ the word for it." Nathan said sarcastically. "So, how did you get into the whole music business?" Nathan asked changing the subject.

"I was 14 years old when my manager spotted me at my junior high school's musical. Eight months later I had my first album done." Haley said looking at her hands.

"That must've been tough."

"Yeah, you could say so." Haley whispered while remembering all the sleepless nights she used to have when she was writing or recording songs, doing photo shoots and gigs, sitting in a tour bus... Anything but hang out with her friends and family.

"When did you start basketball?" Haley asked.

"Since I could walk." Nathan said. Haley laughed at that. "I'm not kidding." Haley's smile faded.

"I played high school varsity on my eight grade."

"How's that possible?"

"After the regular season's over and the playoffs start, eight-graders are allowed to play too. On freshman year I was the captain."

"Ever win state?"

"Not yet. Which makes my dad _really_ happy as you can imagine."

"That sucks. But hey, there's always senior year." Haley said while thinking about how she would never experience it.

"Yeah, the hopes are pretty high this year. And so is the pressure." Nathan said.

"Know the feeling." Haley muttered. They sat in silence while staring at the backyard.

"Why do you and Tim hate each other so much?" Nathan suddenly asked.

"We don't hate each other." Haley said.

"Well, you fight like cats and dogs."

"Yeah, I know." Haley said and sighed. "Nothing specific happened, you know. It just did." Haley said looking at him. Nathan didn't quite believe so he raised his eyebrows.

"Ok, so something did happen. And it's all my fault." Haley said and sighed. "Few years ago, I-"

"What are you doing here?" Haley and Nathan turned to look at the Tim who was standing behind with a suspicious look on his face.

"Nothing." Haley said and got up. "I gotta call mom. See you guys later." She was about to go inside when she turned to look at Nathan. "Thanks, Nathan. You know, for everything." She said and smiled.

"Anytime." He said back. Haley nodded and went inside. Tim turned to look at Nathan.

"What the hell was that about?"

"Nothing." Nathan said and started to walk towards his basketball court. When Tim wasn't following he turned to loo at him. "You coming or what?"

Tim looked at him for a moment and then sighed.

"Yeah, coming." He mumbled and followed Nathan.

As always.

* * *

So, how was it? Good? Bad? Please review. :)

-Fes-


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! I know it's been forever since an update and unfortunately there's gonna be an even longer wait till chapter 6. I'm visiting some friends and family in the States and won't be back on my computer till the 18th. :( I know it totally sucks and I should've planned posting more chapters now but I just ran out of time with all the packing and shit. Anyways, I hope you like chapter 5 at least. Please, review.

Chapter 5

Next morning when Haley and Tim went downstairs for breakfast, they came face to face with their dad and the she-devil herself, Shari.

"Dad!" Haley yelled enthusiastically and hugged him.

"Sweetie, so good to see you." He said and hugged her back. "So sorry I couldn't pick you up from the airport, honey. There seemed to be a misunderstanding with your flight schedule." Peter said.

"I'm sure there was." Haley said a bit coldly while glaring at Shari. Peter turned to look at Tim.

"Son, any problems while I was gone?"

"Have I ever had any?" Tim asked smirking. Peter laughed.

"Well, I can't tell how good it is to see the both of you here. And it's not even Christmas yet!" he said and hugged them both again. Shari rolled her eyes in annoyance and started to pick on her nails. "I was thinking that we could all go out to eat." Tim turned to look at Haley who was looking at the ground. She obviously didn't want to be seen in public.

"Umh, dad. Why don't we just order in and watch a movie or something?" Tim suggested.

"Sounds like fun. Right, Shari?" Peter asked. Shari turned to look at him and gave him a fake smile.

"Of course, dear. But I have plans with the girls." She said.

"Then we'll have fun just the three of us, right?" Peter looked Haley and Tim. They both nodded their heads in agreement.

"I've gotta go, dear. Brandy and Margarita are waiting for me." Shari said but didn't move.

"Why am I not surprised that her friends' names are also alcohol drinks?" Haley muttered enough loud for Tim to hear. Tim laughed out loud.

"See you later, darling." Peter said and kissed his wife on the cheek. Shari still didn't move.

"Oh, of course." Peter said and started to take his wallet out. Tim and Haley could've sworn they saw the dollar signs in her eyes. Peter handed her his credit card. Shari smiled happily and kissed him.

"Thank you, dear. I will see you later." She said and left without looking at Tim or Haley.

"Dad, why do you...?" Haley started but couldn't finish.

"Why do I what, honey?" he asked. Haley looked at Tim who just shook his head.

"Never mind. It's good to see you, dad." Haley said and smiled.

"Good to see you too, kids. I'm sorry but I have to go make some business calls. But how about we eat at six?" he asked.

"Sounds good, dad." Tim said before he and Haley went to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

"You know, she hasn't been here for 10 minutes and I already wanna strangle her." Haley said while taking the cereal box out.

"She's a _hell_ of a woman." Tim said laughing.

"You can say that again." Haley said. "Hey, I was thinking about our birthday party and I definitely want some live music. What kinda music do you listen to these days?" Haley asked while taking two spoons out and giving Tim the other one.

"Rap, hip hop..." Tim said.

"So, crap. Got it." Haley said smiling.

"Whatever." he said smiling.

"What time is Nathan and the rest coming?" Haley asked nonchalantly.

"Why?" Tim asked while looking at Haley at the corner of her eyes.

"No reason." Haley said. Tim still looked at her.

"What's going on with you and Nathan?" Tim asked.

"Nothing." Haley said while smiling a little.

"Do you like him?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, he's nice." Haley said dodging the question.

"You know that's not what I meant. Do you like him as more than a friend?" Haley was quiet for a while. Right when she was about to answer, the doorbell ran.

"I'll get it!" Haley yelled and ran to get the door quickly. She opened the door.

"Brooke! Why are you ringing the doorbell? Never mind, you actually saved me." Haley said while walking towards the kitchen.

"Saved you?"

"Never mind. What brings you here at... 10.30 am? I didn't know you were capable of getting out of the bed before noon." Haley said laughing.

"We need to plan the party." Brooke said while taking out a thick pink file that had stickers and glitter on top of it. She opened it and turned it around so Haley could see it.

"What is that?" Haley asked.

"My party file. It has 5 different sections: yellow, red, green, purple and blue. As you can see: yellow stands for locations, red for entertainment, green for decorations, purple for food and drinks and last but definitely not least, blue stands for male strippers." Brooke said grinning. Haley immediately opened the blue pages.

"So, you have pictures and fact files for every male stripper in Tree Hill?" Haley asked laughing.

"Including the weight, the height and _the_ size." Brooke said grinning.

"You're unbelievable." Haley said grinning while flipping through the book.

"Just thought this might help you when you're planning your birthday party."

"Yeah, totally. Thank you so much!"

"No problem but I gotta go now. I'm meeting Luke for brunch. Later, guys."

"Buy Brooke."

"So, what are we gonna do today?" Haley asked from Tim.

"We?" Tim asked.

"Fine, I won't bother you. I've got something to read anyways." Haley said while pointing at the party file.

"Have fun." Tim muttered while starting to leave.

"You too." Haley said while frowning. She knew that Tim was just trying to keep her away from Nathan. Haley finished her breakfast and went to her room. She talked to her mom the whole morning, made a few business calls and read Brooke's Party File from the start till the end.

After 5 pm, Haley decided to go downstairs. She went to the kitchen to find the take out menus. Her dad came in too.

"Hey, honey. You hungry?" he asked while looking at the menus also.

"Starving. So, you feel like pizza, Chinese or Thai?"

"I don't care, whatever you and Tim want. Speaking of which, where is he?"

"My guess: playing ball with Nathan." Haley said.

"Of course. Don't leave, I'll be right back." Peter said and left the kitchen. Few minutes later he came back with Tim and surprisingly, also with Nathan.

"What's up, guys?" Haley asked from both of them but was looking at Nathan.

"Not much. Your dad mentioned food..." Nathan said grinning.

"Well, yes he did. What do you feel like eating? Chinese, pizza or Thai?" Nathan went next to her to look at the menus. A little too close in Tim's opinion. Peter just grinned while looking at the scene in front of him.

"So, Chinese it is!" Nathan said when he and Haley came to an agreement.

"Actually, I feel like pizza." Tim said. Haley and Nathan turned to look at him.

"Ok, so we'll eat pizza then." Haley said smiling. She knew that he was just trying to be difficult.

"Wait, I meant Thai!" Tim said.

"Ok, we eat Thai!" Haley said.

"Great." Tim said.

"Do you even like Thai?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I love Thai." Tim said while trying to find anything eatable from the Thai menu. "On second thought, I feel like Chinese." He said when he put the menu away. Haley and Nathan grinned at each other.

They spent the rest of the night eating, watching movies and just hanging out. After the second movie, Peter excused himself to bed leaving Tim to babysit Nathan and Haley.

The next morning the trio woke up from the living room.

"Oh my god, my neck is committing a suicide..." Haley mumbled when she opened her eyes. Nathan groaned while stretching his arms. He accidentally hit Tim which made him fall on the floor.

"Motherfucker!" he yelled when he hit the floor.

"Tim, you ok?" Nathan asked with a sleepy voice when he noticed Tim on the floor.

"Just peachy." Tim said which made Haley smile.

"So, what are we doing today?" Haley asked from the guys.

"We?" Tim asked. Haley rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I won't bother you. Just try not to bore him." Haley said pointing at Nathan.

"Very funny, bitch." Tim said harshly while getting up from the floor.

"Whatever, retard. I'm taking a shower." She said and left. Tim sat down next to Nathan on the couch.

"Dude, you ok?" Nathan asked from Tim.

"Yeah, why?"

"You were kinda mean to Haley."

"We're always mean to each other, in case you haven't noticed." Tim said.

"But you were just starting to get along."

"We never get along." Tim said and turned to glare at Nathan. "Why do you care so much?"

"No reason." He said and started to walk towards the kitchen. Tim followed him. They made breakfast and ate in silence. Suddenly Tim turned to look at Nathan.

"Are you into my sister?" Nathan almost choked on his cereal.

"What? Haley! Your sister! That's crazy! You're crazy!" Nathan said in one breath and quickly ate another spoonful of cereal. Tim just glared at him but didn't ask any more questions.

Haley took a long shower. She was mad at Tim for being an ass and also because she couldn't hang out with Nathan.

After the shower, Haley got dressed and took her guitar out. She went to sit on the huge, comfortable bean sack that was by the window. She started to write down the lyrics that came to her head. After a while she needed to sharpen her pencil but couldn't find it. She went to look for one from Tim's room. She opened the door and looked at the basketball trophies and the playboy posters. She also saw his CD collection.

"Nas, Eminem, D-12, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg... At least he has Black Eyed Peas." Haley muttered while looking through the CD's. She went to his desk and found a sharpener. She sharpened the pencil while looking around the room.

She turned around and was about to get out of the room when she saw the corner of a black box under his bed. She stopped and pulled it out. She thought about not opening it in fear or finding his playboy collection but the curiosity got the best of her. She slowly opened the box.

"Oh. My. God." Haley said when she saw what was in it. She looked at everything that was in the box and couldn't help the few tears that came to her eyes. She stayed in his room for about half an hour just looking through everything that was in the box. Finally she closed the box and put it back under the bed.

She wiped the tears away and went back to her room. She played her guitar for few hours but couldn't really concentrate on anything because she was still thinking of what she found in Tim's room. When she heard Tim and Nathan come inside the house to get a drink, she went to the kitchen to see them. The minute she saw Tim she went to give him a huge hug.

"What's- Oh! What are you doing?" Tim asked when Haley hugged him. He awkwardly hugged her back.

"I'm hugging you." She said while hugging him harder not caring that he wasn't wearing a shirt and that he was covered in sweat.

"Why?" he asked confused.

"Because I love you." She said and let go of him. She kissed his forehead and started to walk out of the room. He noticed Nathan standing there. "Hi, Nathan. Bye, Nathan." She said without turning around. Nathan turned to look at Tim with a confused look. Tim looked back at him with a matching look.

"What the hell was that about?" Tim finally asked.

"I guess she loves you." Nathan said smiling. Tim looked at the door Haley had just went through.

"I'll be right back." He muttered while walking towards Haley's room. He knocked on the door and walked in. Haley was sitting on her bed playing with her guitar. She turned to look at Tim.

"Hey, Tim." She said smiling.

"Hey, Haley." He said and went to sit on the bed next to her. "Everything ok?" he asked. Haley turned to smile at him.

"Yeah, fantastic. Why wouldn't it be?" she said softly.

"Well, you kinda freaked me out back there." He said quietly while studying her face.

"Everything's perfect." She said smiling.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yes, now go entertain your best friend." She said laughing. Tim got up from the bed and started to leave.

"Haley?" Tim asked when he got to the door.

"Yeah?"

"We're ordering pizza in a couple of hours. You want some?" he asked. Haley nodded her head while grinning widely. Tim nodded and left the room. Haley was still grinning. Tim never asked Haley to join him in anything he did.

"He loves me too!"

* * *

So, how was it? I know it was short but I hope it was worth your time. Please review.

Oh, almost forgot. My fanfiction account has been weird since I started posting this new story. I always use Word document and it should support the italics and underlined and stuff like that but ever since I started "Colgate Soulmate", I always have to use the edit function if I want to underline something. I didn't have this problem with "The Fast and the Furious". Can anyone help me?

-Fes-


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! I'm back from the States with my very own OTH season 2 dvd set. :) I'm so excited to see the episodes again. Though season 2 was kinda crappy for our beloved Naley couple, the first episodes are so cute. And am I the only who thinks that the what-if episode where Nathan and Haley are best friends, is totally one of the best episodes:) So cute! And such a good basis for a fanfic... Hmmm... :D Anyways, here's chapter 6. Hope you like it and don't forget to review. :)

Chapter 6

The rest of the week went by the same way. Tim did his best to keep Haley and Nathan separated. They still talked to each other now and then when Tim wasn't looking, which for both of their bad fortune, didn't happen too many times.

Haley spent most of the days in her room or hanging out with Brooke and Peyton. She had now spent two weeks in Tree Hill which was half of the time she was going to be there. One more week to her and Tim's birthday and one week after that she would go back to Los Angeles. Back to home.

Home. A word Haley had always associated Los Angeles with but in the past few weeks Tree Hill had also became her other home. The more quiet and peaceful home.

Haley woke up to the sound of her cell phone. She answered without checking the caller id.

"Hello?" she asked with a sleepy voice.

"Haley, get your ass off the bed. We're picking you up in 15 minutes." Brooke said with excitement.

"Brooke, I don't know what your crazy plan is but I'm so not getting out of this bed." She said without opening her eyes.

"Haley, get your bikinis and sun lotion. We're taking my boat out." Brooke said grinning. Haley opened her eyes and sat up.

"You've got a boat?"

"Yeah. Haven't I mentioned?"

"No."

"Well, I've got a boat. And we're gonna be in it in 30 minutes. So I'll see you in 15." Brooke said and hung up. Haley groaned but got up and went to take a shower. She went downstairs and found Tim there too.

"Did Brooke call you?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, I didn't know she has a boat." Haley said while starting to make breakfast

"It's her dad's but she's the only one who uses it. It is so sweet!" Tim said. Right that moment Shari came in. Haley grinned at Tim and started to sing quietly a familiar song.

_"She's dangerous... super bad... you better watch out or she'll take your cash..."_

_"She's a gold digger. A gold digger..."_ Tim continued. Apparently he knew Ludacris's 'Golddigger' too.

Shari stared at them annoyed and left when they wouldn't stop singing the chorus. She slammed the door on her way out. Haley and Tim burst out laughing and high fived. They heard a car honk outside.

"Oh, that must be Brooke." Haley said while still laughing a bit.

"You ready?"

"If it's ok with you." Haley said. They were finally getting along and she didn't want to step over her boundaries when it came to his friends.

"Yeah, sure. It'll be fun. Let's go." She said and they left.

---------

When Tim had agreed to take Haley with them, he hadn't thought it through. Haley was going to be wearing bikinis. In front of Nathan. And Nathan was going to be shirtless. In front of Haley.

"Your boat totally rocks!" Haley said when they were on the boat, in the middle of the lake/see/ocean/whatever it was. Peyton and Jake were swimming in the water while Brooke and Lucas said that they would go make lunch inside the boat, but in reality they were just making out.

Haley, Nathan and Tim were playing cards on the deck.

"Whatcha got there, Timmy?" Haley asked.

"A pair of 10's and jack high. And don't call me Timmy."

"Nathan?"

"Pair of Kings." He said proudly while laughing at Tim who looked annoyed.

"Cash out, boys. Full house. I win." Haley said smiling while throwing her cards on the table.

"Again? That's the fourth time in a row!" Tim whined. He started to look for money but he had already spent everything he had taken out of his wallet. He decided to get more money from his back pack that was under the deck.

"I'll be right back." He said before leaving.

"Wait, you have two 10's here." Nathan said.

"So?" Haley asked while taking the cards from the table and starting to shuffle them with the rest of the cards.

"Tim had two 10's." Nathan said.

"So? There are four of every number." Haley said smiling nervously.

"Well, I also had on ten." He said. Haley swallowed and smiled coyly at Nathan. "Oh my god, you cheated!" Nathan said laughing.

"No, there must be some sort of mix up with the cards." Haley said.

"No, we checked the pack, remember?" Nathan said grinning. "I can't believe you cheated!" Nathan said laughing.

"I didn't cheat!" Haley said laughing.

"And I can't believe I didn't notice it! Hey, I want my money back!" Nathan said and started to take his money from the big pile that was in front of Haley.

"Hands off! My money!" she said while slapping his hands away.

"Oh, you're so going to get it." Nathan said and got up. He picked up Haley from the ground and threw her over his shoulder.

"Nathan let me go!" Haley yelled laughing while hitting his back.

"Will you give my money back?" he asked while walking towards the end of the boat.

"No?" Haley asked quietly.

"Wrong answer!" Nathan yelled laughing and threw her in the water. Haley grabbed his arm and they both went flying in the water.

"Oh my god! I can't believe you just threw me in the water!" Haley yelled laughing while trying to dunk Nathan under water.

"Well, I can't believe you cheated!" he said while trying to dodge Haley's attacks.

"Now I'm all wet!"

"Now I'm all broke!" Nathan said and they both laughed. They both fell silent and just stared at each other with a small smile. Nathan swam a little closer to Haley.

"You're not hurt, right?" He asked.

"No, I didn't pull your arm off, did I?" Haley asked. Nathan waved his hands and smiled.

"Nope, still all here."

"Good." Haley said and smiled a little. They fell silent again.

"Nathan, I-"

"What the hell are you doing?" Tim asked angrily. Haley sighed and turned to look at an angry Tim who was standing on the boat glaring at them.

"Nathan threw me in the water!" Haley said laughing.

"Haley cheated on the card game!" Nathan protested. Haley threw some water on Nathan who tried to dunk her in return.

"Get back in the boat!" he yelled angrily.

"Chill out, Tim." Haley said annoyed. She was starting to get sick of Tim's attitude.

"Haley, get in here. Now!" Tim yelled. Haley rolled her eyes annoyed and took a hold of the boat while trying to pull herself up. Tim grabbed her arm and Nathan tried to lift her up by pushing her ass up. Tim glared at him.

"I've got it, Nathan." he said coldly and pulled Haley up. Haley turned to look at Tim.

"God, Tim! What the hell is your problem!" Haley asked angrily.

"My problem? I'm just trying to look after you!"

"Well, don't! I don't need your or anyone else's help! I am beyond sick of everyone telling what to do!" Haley yelled angrily. By that time Nathan had pulled himself of off the water and was staring at the twins.

"You know, you've turned into a real bitch since you got famous!" Tim said angrily. By that time Jake and Peyton had gotten out of the water. Brooke and Lucas also came to see what the noise was about.

"Me? What about you! I've seen you maybe four times in five years!"

"Well, you could've visited me too!"

"You know what? You were obviously right. I shouldn't have come here."

"Wow, took you this long to figure it out! But why should Haley James, the rock star, suffer here! She could always fly back to LA!" Tim said angrily.

"Tim, don't say that! Haley, he doesn't mean it." Brooke tried but was ignored by both of them

"Tempting, Tim. But like I said, I'm not gonna ruin mom's vacation."

"Fine. Do what you want. Just like always. But you better stay the fuck out of my way."

"Same goes for you, _brother_." Haley said the last word in anger.

"You've got yourself a deal, _sister_." Tim said angrily.

"Well, at least they agree on something." Lucas whispered to Brooke. Brooke smacked him on the arm.

"I hate to ask this Brooke but could we please go back before I slash my wrists and/or drown my retarded brother?" Haley asked from Brooke.

"Same goes for you, bitch." Tim said annoyed.

"Whatever, loser." Haley said.

"Yeah, sure. We'll leave." Brooke said while looking at Tim who was starting to get very angry. Brooke and Peyton went to drive the boat while Tim went to sit inside with Jake and Lucas. Nathan was torn between Haley and Tim.

"You ok?" Nathan asked from Haley who was sitting on the back of the boat while staring at the water. She didn't turn around. He knew she was feeling miserable.

"Nate, you coming!" Tim yelled angrily. Nathan looked at Haley and sighed. Haley held her breath while looking at the water.

"Yeah." He said sadly and left Haley by herself. Haley took her towel from the ground and wrapped it around her. She sighed in sadness and closed her eyes. She was so sick and tired of everyone telling her what to do and then fighting with them about it.

She liked Nathan and wanted to get to know him but Tim was not making it easy. Then she realized that maybe it was for the best. After all, she was going back to LA in two weeks and long distance relationships weren't her thing.

"Hey, how are you?" Haley turned to find Brooke behind her.

"Just peachy." Haley said.

"Peachy... Code word for miserable, huh." Brooke said and smiled a little. "You mind if I sit down?" Haley made room for Brooke to sit down next to her on the bench.

"I'm really sorry, Haley. I don't know why Tim's acting like that." Brooke said.

"She's mad cause Nathan and I are friends." Haley said sadly.

"Just friends?" Brooke said.

"Yes, friends. I don't know why he's so against it. Nathan lives in North Carolina; I live in California. He's in high school; I'm probably starting my second tour in a month. It's not like anything could ever happen." Haley said.

"Would you like something to happen between you and Nathan?" Brooke asked quietly to make sure no one else heard.

"Nothing can happen. It doesn't matter what I want." Haley whispered.

"Haley, that's the _only_ thing that matters. If you really like him and he likes you, like I'm sure he does, than I'm sure you can work it out."

"I don't know. I've only dated once and look how that ended."

"You can't compare Nathan to a fucker like Chris. He obviously wasn't smart enough to hold onto you." Brooke said.

"I'm leaving in two weeks." Haley said. She still couldn't confess that she wanted to be more than friends with Nathan.

"I can't tell you what to do, Haley. I can only say that Nathan's a really good guy and you should talk to him."

"There's always Tim." Haley said rubbed her temples. She was sick of fighting with him.

"Let me handle Tim." Brooke said smirking.

"What are you gonna do?" Haley asked curiously.

"Like I said, handle him." Brooke said and cracked her knuckles. Haley giggled at Brooke's expression. Brooke smiled at her, happy that she was able to make her laugh. "We're here." Brooke said when they got to the harbor. "Don't worry, Haley. Everything will turn out fine."

"Thanks, Brooke. For some reason, I actually believe you." Haley said smiling.

"Good, you should. And you wanna know why? Cause I'm always right." She said and grinned.

"You better be right about that." Haley said.

"What did I just say? I'm always right." She said smiling and went to get the rest. Haley put her shorts on and started to look for her shirt. Nathan, Tim, Peyton, Brooke, Jake and Lucas came. Tim glared at Haley but didn't say anything.

"Are you looking for something?" Peyton asked from Haley.

"Yeah, can't find my shirt." Haley said. "Ah, it doesn't matter. It's hotter than hell outside anyways." Haley said and took her stuff and jumped off of the boat. They were in the middle of securing the boat when suddenly 5 reporters came from nowhere and started to take pictures of Haley.

"Shit..." Haley mumbled.

"Hey, get out of here!" Brooke yelled to the guys with the annoying cameras. But of course they didn't move.

Haley wrapped her towel around her upper body and put her sunglasses on. "Are we ready?" Haley asked from the guys.

"Not yet. But we have two cars. You girls could just go and we'll come later." Jake said.

"Great, can we go?" Haley asked quietly from Brooke and Peyton.

"Yeah, let's go." Brooke said and took her stuff. They started to walk towards Brooke's car while the cameras flashed around them.

Jake, Lucas, Tim and Nathan looked at the girls leaving. Brooke and Peyton were around Haley, who was just staring at the ground while walking as fast as she could.

"Poor Haley." Nathan muttered.

"Must be hard to live with people like that." Lucas said.

"Can she ever have a normal life?" Jake asked. Tim stayed quiet while staring at his sister who was trying her best to shield herself from the cameras. Tim sighed and felt bang guilt for treating her so badly.

"Are we ready?" Tim asked from the others. They turned to look at him and finished securing the boat without saying anything.

* * *

So, how was it? I know it was kinda short and lame but I promise it'll get better. Don't forget to review. :) 

-Fes-


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, guys! I'm back with and update and I apologize that it took this long. Thank you so much again for all the awesome reviews, they always brighten up my day. Anyways, on with the story. :)

Chapter 7

Haley opened the front door to the Smith residence and let Peyton and Brooke in. She saw Jake's car in front of her house. Apparently the guys had gotten there faster which didn't surprise Haley because it took the girls almost an hour to drive around the city to finally lose the paparazzi. The last thing Haley wanted was for them to find out where she lived.

"Hey, girls. So, did you lose them?" Lucas asked when he came to greet his girlfriend.

"Yeah, took us a while but it was worth it." Peyton said and smiled at Haley who had been mostly quiet during the entire drive from the harbor. Haley saw Tim and the other guys walk towards them.

"Listen girls, I'm pretty beat. I think I'm just gonna take a shower and rest in my room." Haley said when she saw Tim coming. She was tired of fighting with him.

"No, don't go." Brooke said.

"Naw, I'm really tired. But I'll talk to you later." She said and ran quickly upstairs. Brooke sighed. Then she turned to look at Tim angrily.

"We need to talk." She said and pulled him by his arm to the kitchen. She got the chair out and pushed Tim to sit on it.

"What are you-" Tim started annoyed. Brooke raised her finger in the air which meant for him to be silent.

"Tim, I know that siblings don't always get along and that sometimes they are mean to each other but this is getting ridiculous." Brooke said. "I don't know what your problem is but Haley's going through a lot right now and the last thing she needs is for you to be an ass and not let her hang out with her friends."

"Brooke, back off! This doesn't concern you!" Tim said angrily and got up from the chair but Brooke pushed him back on it.

"Haley's my friend and I'm not gonna watch her be miserable. She could leave in two weeks and we both know that she's not gonna get any happier then. She needs friends now." Brooke said. Tim sighed and looked at Brooke.

"I just don't want her hanging out with Nathan."

"Why? I know Nathan doesn't have the best dating record but I think that it's just because he hasn't found anyone he could imagine getting serious with."

"I know. And that's the problem. I've never seen Nathan act like this around a girl."

"So, what's the problem? Nathan likes Haley. It seems that Haley likes Nathan too."

"That's exactly the problem. I know that if they got together, it would get serious."

"And...?" Brooke asked not understanding his problem. Tim sighed but didn't say anything.

"Tim? What's really bothering you?" Brooke said and pulled a chair so she could sit next to Tim. "Tim!" Brooke raised her voice a bit.

"I'm afraid, alright! I'm afraid that they'll get so close that Nathan won't have time to hang out with me. That they'll get so close that Haley will spend all her time with him. I don't want to lose my sister _and_ my best friend."

"So if nothing happens between them, Haley will just go back and you will at least have Nathan. That's your strategy?" Brooke asked when she understood his way of thinking.

"Tim, that's dumb." Brooke said smiling. "You're Nathan's best friend and Haley's brother. They wouldn't ditch you." Brooke said trying to make some sense into him.

"Whatever. But like you said, Haley's leaving in two weeks. It wouldn't work." Tim said. Brooke smiled a little.

"Why don't you let them decide that?" Brooke said softly. Tim sighed and looked at her.

"Fine, they can do whatever they want, fine!" Tim said frustrated but Brooke could tell he wasn't mad.

"Yay!" Brooke yelled enthusiastically and clapped her hands.

"But I won't be happy about it." Tim said.

"Of course not." Brooke said smiling. "I'm gonna talk to Haley and Nathan." she said.

"Good." Tim said and went to play ball with the guys.

Brooke went upstairs and knocked on Haley's door. She opened the door and found Haley sitting on her bed, still wearing her bikini top and shorts.

"So..." Brooke started. "I talked to Tim. I told him he's an ass and he shouldn't be."

"I agree." Haley said.

"Well, I also made him promise that he wouldn't get in your and Nathan's way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you and Nathan would for example start dating, Tim would stay out of your way."

"Really? He said that?"

"Yep." Brooke said grinning. When Haley didn't start a happy dance, Brooke frowned.

"Why aren't you happier?" she asked from Haley. Haley sighed.

"Well, it doesn't change anything. I'm still leaving in two weeks. Nothing can happen."

"But you like him. And he likes you." Brooke said. "That should be all that matters." Haley laughed a bit.

"Not in my life."

"So, I just almost kicked Tim's ass for nothing?" Brooke asked frustrated.

"No, it's awesome that I can hang out with all of you now without feeling like I have to be on my toes or something." Haley said. "And there's always a reason to kick Tim's ass." Haley added with a wink. Brooke smiled and turned to look at her right. She saw Haley's suitcase. It was packed.

"You leaving?"

"No." Haley said smiling.

"Then why have you packed it?"

"I never unpacked it." Haley said.

"Why? You have a closet the size of Tim's bathroom."

"I never unpack." Haley said.

"Whatever. Why don't you come downstairs and join us." Brooke said.

"Sure, I'm just first gonna take that shower but I'll be right down."

"Alright, we'll be by the pool." She said and left. She went downstairs to find everyone playing basketball outside.

"Hey Brooke, everything alright?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, perfect." She said but looked at everyone but Nathan, who was tying his shoelaces, with a weird look.

"Let's go get a drink, guys." Peyton said and linked arms with Lucas and Jake and started to drag them towards the house. She turned to glare at Tim who wasn't moving.

"Tim, let's go." Peyton said.

"But I'm not thirsty."

"Go talk to Haley then!" Peyton said.

"Fine." He said and started towards his house.

"Hey, I'm thirsty too." Nathan said when he noticed that they were leaving.

"We'll bring you water!" Peyton yelled before disappearing into the house with the guys.

"Whatever..." Nathan muttered and threw a 3-pointer. Brooke looked at him for a while.

"Nathan, we've gotta talk." Brooke said.

"Brooke, I know my feet stink but I'm doing my best! I wear flip flops as much as possible, I take a shower twice a day and change my socks-"

"We need to talk about Haley." Brooke said. Nathan fell quiet. "But your right about your feet. They do stink." Brooke said. "Anyways, I talked to Tim and then Haley."

"About what?"

"About you and her." Brooke said. "Long story short, Tim won't be an ass about you and Haley anymore."

"You serious?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, just wanted to let you know." Brooke said smiling.

"Thanks, it's not gonna change anything though. She's still leaving." Nathan said with a hint of sadness.

"Jesus, what is it with you two..." Brooke muttered.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Ah, nothing." Brooke said. "I'm gonna go tell the others they can come back." Brooke said and left.

"Huh?" Nathan asked confused. Brooke just waved her hand to make him forget.

Tim had gone to find Haley like Peyton had told.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Tim asked when he met Haley in the kitchen.

"What? No. But since you're here, I gotta make sure I understood Brooke correctly." Haley said. "So, it's ok if I hang out with you and Nathan?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, sure. You're only staying for few weeks, you should have as much fun as possible." Tim said smiling. Haley hugged him quickly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. It really means a lot to me. And I'm really sorry for what I said."

"Yeah, me too."

"If you need anything, just let me know." Haley said.

"Just throw one kick ass birthday party for us and we're even." Tim said. Haley smirked at that. "I'm gonna go play ball. You coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there. Just gotta make one phone call really quickly." Haley said still smirking.

"Ok, see you soon." Tim said and left. Haley smirked and took her cell phone out. She started to go through the numbers until she found just the right person. She pressed call.

"Hey. It's Haley... Yeah, it's been forever, I know... I miss you too!.. It's not till next week... Speaking of it, remember when you said that you owe me one?... Well, I was wondering if you and the gang could do me a huuuuge favor..."

Few minutes later Haley joined her brother and friends by the pool. When Brooke saw her coming, she quickly disappeared inside the house and dragged everyone with her but Nathan who was too slow to understand what was going on.

"Where did they go?" Haley asked when she got to where Nathan was.

"I was just about to ask the same..." Nathan muttered. Then they both realized that Brooke wanted for them to spend time together. Alone.

They both blushed and turned to look away. Nathan suddenly found his sneakers very interesting while Haley came to the conclusion that she needed a manicure badly. After a while the silence was getting unbearable.

"Ok, this is ridiculous." Haley finally said. Nathan sighed out load.

"Yeah, damn Brooke. I mean, the only difference is that now we can hang out without Tim wanting to kick our asses."

"Yeah, totally!" Haley said trying to convince herself more than Nathan.

"Yeah." He said in the same voice. They laughed a little and then fell silent again.

"I'm gonna go find Brooke." Haley said quickly.

"Yeah, you do that." He said and grabbed the basketball and threw it neatly through the hoop.

"Show-off." Haley grinned and muttered load enough for Nathan to hear. Nathan laughed and watched Haley get Brooke. He sighed and picked up the ball and did a perfect lay-up.

"Brooke what the hell was that about?" Haley hissed when she got inside. Brooke was standing in front of the window trying to pull the curtains back to cover the fact that she had been spying on them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said innocently but grinned.

"That was one of the most awkward moments in my life, and I have walked on my boyfriend cheating on me with his maid so I _know_ awkward!" Haley said. Brooke looked at her surprised. Haley never talked about that incident so openly.

"I don't understand why it has to be awkward between you and Nathan. He likes you. You like him." Brooke said.

"Because nothing can ever happen! I'm leaving in less than two weeks!" Haley said with a frustrated voice.

"Ok, ok. Calm down. I won't harass you anymore." Brooke said.

"Thank you. I know you mean well but this thing can't work out." Haley said.

"I think you're wrong but I respect your decision." Brooke said.

"Thanks, Brooke." Haley said and smiled.

"No problem. Let's go get the others." She said and went to get the rest from the kitchen. They went outside to hang out by the pool while the guys played basketball.

"So, are you and Nathan hooking up?" Peyton asked grinning. Haley rolled her eyes while Brooke laughed out load.

"No, we're not." Haley said.

"Why not?" Peyton asked.

"I already went through with this with Brooke. It's not happening."

"Brooke, don't you think they should hook up?" Peyton asked ignoring Haley's comment.

"Yeah, totally. Just imagine how perfect they'd be." Brooke said while grinning.

"Haley James, the rock star, with Nathan Scott, the NBA star." Peyton said imagining the headline.

"NBA? Is he that good?" Haley asked while looking at Nathan play against Lucas and Tim.

"Yeah, he is. He went to this High Flyers camp that accepts like only one kid from every state. He's probably getting drafted to NBA before he graduates from college." Peyton said.

"See? You two would be so adorable together." Brooke said.

"Come on, give it a rest." Haley said smiling. Secretly she didn't mind thinking about the possibility.

"They would probably get married at the beach." Peyton said.

"Guys-"

"And we would throw the bachelorette-party." Brooke said.

"Come on-"

"Just think how cute their babies would look like." Peyton continued.

"Peyt-"

"Their kids would be so gorgeous!"

"Broo-"

"Yeah, they'd be the popular kids everyone hates!"

"Hey!" Haley yelled a little bit hurt. She then realized why she was upset. "I mean..." she started but Brooke and Peyton started laughing too load.

"So, you do care about your kids." Brooke said.

"There are no kids." Haley said.

"Yet." Peyton said and winked. Haley just rolled her eyes and laid back to soak up the sun. She tried to block Brooke and Peyton's voices but she couldn't help but smile when they started to plan her future wedding.

About an hour later the guys took a break and went to hang out with the girls.

"Had a good game?" Haley asked from Nathan who sat down next to her and Brooke.

"Yeah, but your brother's getting worse." Nathan whispered grinning. Haley laughed out loud.

"Hey, I heard that!" Tim said and threw his water bottle towards him. Nathan dodged it but he forgot that Haley was sitting behind him. The bottle hit her right in the stomach.

"Ouch! What the f..." she took the bottle and threw it at Tim.

"Hey!" Tim yelled.

"_Hey_!" Haley mimicked his voice.

"Bitch."

"Loser."

"Whore."

"Retard."

"You hungry?"

"Starving." Everyone laughed at the sudden change of conversation.

"We should try to cook something for once. I'm getting sick of pizza." Peyton said.

"Hey, good idea. I can make awesome pesto pasta." Brooke said.

"Sounds like a plan." Haley said. "Just keep Tim out of the kitchen." Haley said laughing. Tim rolled his eyes.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"He can't cook." Haley said grinning.

"I do too!"

"Oh really? Remember the chocolate cake incident from Thanksgiving '98?"

"It wasn't cake, it was Jell-O."

"My point exactly."

"Well, you're no Martha Stewart either. May I remind you of Halloween '96."

"It was a perfectly fine pumpkin!"

"A girl asked dad if it had been killed in a tractor accident."

"It may have been a bit off, but it was still pretty!"

"Mr. Arnold from two floors up said it reminded him of the mask they used in the 'Scream' movies. And he worked for the movie industry."

"Ok, so I can't cook." Haley finally admitted.

"Yeah, you both better stay away from the kitchen." Peyton said to Tim and Haley.

"No problem." Haley said. "But I do know how to make Macaroni and Cheese!" Haley said excited.

"From the box." Tim said. "And even then you screw up the measurements." He said laughing.

"Whatever. I happen to recall a time when you wanted to boil eggs and you first broke them into a bowl and then asked 'how can I boil these now'." Haley said and everyone started laughing.

"I was five years old!"

"Mom looked at the bowl for the longest time and then just smiled and said 'we'll make an omelette, dear'. The look on her face was priceless." Haley said laughing with the rest of the group. The laughter was interrupted by Haley's ringing cell phone. Tim grabbed it and looked at the screen.

"Who the hell is 'Fergs'?" Haley snatched the phone from his hands.

"Give me that... Hey, babe... You talked to them? Well, what did they say?... Oh my god, thank you so much! I so owe you!... Ok, see you soon!... Bye, hon.!" Haley snapped the phone shut with a huge grin.

"Who was that?" Tim asked.

"Our entertainment for the party." Haley said.

"Haley, I don't want any of your friends performing here. In case you haven't noticed, we're not into the same music."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, you'll love them." she said still smiling. Haley put her sunglasses on and laid down while still grinning.

"She's weird." Brooke said laughing. Tim just rolled his eyes.

"Took you this long to figure that out?"

* * *

So, how was it? Remember to review like always. :)

-Fes-


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! I'm back with an update, hope you like it. Thank you SO much for all the awesome reviews. There's so much more than I ever expected. I know I keep saying this in every post, but it _really_ does mean so much to me. I study hard and work harder. I don't have enough free time and I'm always tired when I get home after work. But when I open my e-mail after a long day and read a nice review, I just forget about every negative thing. I know that sounded lame but I just want you to know that the replies really mean a lot to me so keep on reviewing. :)

Chapter 8

The week went by fast for Haley because of all the organizing and planning for the party. She organized the whole thing from ordering the right food and drinks to sending the invitations. She and Tim decided to send 250 invites to friends, family, school mates, teachers, basically everyone they knew and cared about.

Haley woke up to the sound of her alarm. She cursed for a while but got up anyways. She had lots to do before the party started.

She took a shower and went downstairs to the kitchen. She found Nathan going through their fridge.

"Your parents never feed you?" Haley asked. Nathan turned around quickly, not expecting Haley to be awake.

"Morning." He said and then gave her an awkward hug. "And happy birthday." Haley hugged him quickly back. "If I had known you were already awake, I would've brought your gift here."

"You bought me a gift? You didn't need to do that." Haley said excited.

"I know but I wanted."

"Thanks." She said and took the milk from the fridge and went to sit. "Did you buy something for Tim too?"

"Yeah, GTA: San Andreas. He's been whining forever how bored he's with Vice City." Nathan said laughing. He then thought that Haley might not know what it is. "In case you didn't know, GTA is-"

"Grand Theft Auto. Yeah, I know. What do you think my band played while sitting 8 hours in a tour bus?" Haley asked laughing. "But I personally think Vice City is better than San Andreas."

"I agree but Tim wouldn't believe me."

"No doubt about it." Haley said.

"Hey, remember when I asked you why you and Tim fight so much? Well, you never got to finish your answer." Nathan said. Haley sighed.

"It was my fault. When my music career was starting I was actually living with Tim and dad. I got a choice to either move with Tim or stay in LA with mom to pursue my dream."

"You chose the latter."

"Tim felt so betrayed. And I don't blame him. I left him alone. So we got separated. We barely saw each other after that. We called once in a while but it got to the point where we only saw each other at Christmas." Haley explained.

"You're getting along now though, right?"

"Yeah, it's so much better now but we still have a lot to get to the point where we used to be at. He must've hated me for what I did."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"What do you mean?"

"I remember this one time when I had a party at my beach house. It was like two years ago. You know Tim; he's usually the loudest and most drunk out of anyone else."

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Haley asked confused.

"I remember that night cause Tim was acting so weird. First he didn't want to come to the party at all saying he was sick even though I had just played basketball with him. When he finally came, he ran straight upstairs to my parents' bedroom and turned the TV on. He stayed there for over 2 hours."

"Why?"

"Once I went to check on what he was watching but he basically threw me out of the room. But I stayed long enough to figure out what he was watching."

"What was it?" Haley asked dying to know.

"MTV Movie Awards 2003."

"I presented an award." Haley said remembering the event.

"Exactly." Nathan said smiling a bit.

"Wait, so Tim basically skipped the whole party to watch me present an award?"

"I don't think he hated you as much as you thought." He said smiling a bit. Haley knew Tim cared about him, the black box under his bed proved it, but she had no idea he would ditch his friends to just watch a show where she was.

"So, what are you doing here anyways?" Haley asked changing the subject.

"Tim and I just came from a run."

"And where is my less intelligent twin?"

"Getting a knee support from his room."

"His knees are still bugging him?" Haley asked.

"Yeah." Nathan said.

"That sucks." Haley said. "But why are you two getting up so early?"

"Starting today, we have to run two 3-mile-runs four times a week. We just finished the first 3-mile run. Gotta get ready for the basketball season."

"Which doesn't start in like three months."

"Whitey thinks the seasons never end." Tim said behind them. He had the knee support on his left knee. Haley got up from the chair and gave Tim a huge hug.

"Happy birthday!"

"Whoa! Someone's in a good mood." Tim said and hugged her back. "But happy birthday to you too, little sister."

"Thanks. You guys excited about tonight?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, of course. You've been stressing about it the whole week." Nathan said.

"I just want everything to go as planned."

"And it will." Tim said and smiled. "Don't worry."

"You know I will." Haley said smiling. She looked at the clock on the wall. "Shit, I gotta go. I gotta talk to the dancers, the band, waiters, bouncers, the florist and the caterer-"

"You planning a wedding or a birthday?" Nathan asked grinning.

"Very fun-" Haley got cut off by her ringing cell phone. "Sorry, I gotta take this." She said and flipped the phone open.

"Hello?... Yeah, this is her... I need food at the party!... What do you mean he's sick! What does he have, a goddamn cold?... Oh. Do you know when he will be conscious?... Got it, got it. So, who's gonna bring the food?... Good... No, I need it by eight p.m.! Not nine p.m., EIGHT p.m.!... Thank you, I will see you at eight." Haley said and flipped the phone shut.

"I already feel sorry for your wedding planner." Tim said after Haley ended the phone call.

"What?" she asked innocently. Suddenly the cell phone started to ring again. Tim snatched it and answered it before Haley could.

"Hello?... Yeah, I'm him... Thanks... Yeah, hold on she's right here." Tim handed the phone to Haley. "Some girl." Haley took the phone.

"Hello?... Ave!... I'm good, how are you... Awesome... Thank you very much... Can you make it tonight?... Aaw, too bad. Wish you could've been here... Ok, say hi to the band... Miss you too! Bye." Haley ended the call.

"She sounded familiar and she said happy birthday to me. Who was she?" Tim asked.

"Ave. You know her." Haley said smiling a bit.

"I do? Ave... What's her last name?" Tim asked.

"Lavigne." Haley said grinning. She looked at the clock on the wall. "Now I'm really gonna be late." She said and drank the rest of her juice.

"Wait, Ave Lavigne as in _Avril Lavigne_?" Tim asked shocked.

"The party starts at nine. Don't be late! See you then." Haley said ignoring his question.

"Wait! Did I just talk to Avril Lavigne?" Tim yelled after her but she was already gone. Tim turned to look at Nathan.

"I just talked to Avril Lavigne." He said in shock. Nathan just shrugged his shoulders.

"I've talked to a celebrity." Tim said smiling.

"Some might say your sister's a celebrity." Nathan pointed out.

"Haley? That's a weird thought." Tim said.

"Yeah no kidding, let's just hope that the party's a success." Nathan said.

"Oh, they always are, don't worry. She said that she managed to get the pre-dancers from mom's night club. Those girls are hot!"

"And did she mention a band?"

"Yeah, some lame-ass band she met while on tour. Don't know, don't care." Tim said.

"Well, a live band is still pretty cool."

"Yeah, I just hope they're good." Tim said.

"Wait, you didn't give her a present?" Nathan asked.

"No, Haley and I decided not to exchange any gifts. She said she was too busy with the party and I said that the party was present enough for me." Tim said.

"Ok." He said and looked at the clock. It was about time for their second 3-mile-run. "Ready for round two?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Do we _ever_ have a choice?"

"Ugh, I swear to god Whitey hates us." Tim said.

"Yeah, but we still gotta go. Come on." Nathan said and pulled Tim up from the chair.

Haley was busy the entire day. She had to talk to Karen about the practical stuff, after that she talked to the bouncers. She gave them the list of the people who was invited. She emphasized that no one else could get in especially any unwanted paparazzi.

Haley then went to check up on the food and yell at the people some more because they were falling off the schedule. She then had a meeting with Peyton and Brooke at the beauty salon where they got their nails and toes done. Then she had to meet with the band and be present at the sound check.

Finally at 7 she was done with everything. She drove as fast as she could back home where Brooke and Peyton were waiting for her already.

"Where have you been? We still gotta do your hair and make up." Brooke said impatiently.

"I'm so sorry, there was a mix-up with the florist and I got stuck in the traffic." She said apologetically.

"Well, you're here now which is the only thing that matters. Just sit down and let Brooke and I take care of you." Peyton said.

"I still gotta eat something before leaving." Haley said stressing.

"There's some Chinese for you in the fridge." Brooke said and went to heat it up for her while Peyton started with Haley's hair.

"We also have a little gift for you." Brooke said grinning when she came back with the heated food.

"What? I told you not to get me anything." Haley said.

"And did you really think we'd do that?" Peyton said while taking a box behind the couch.

"Open it." Brooke said. Haley looked at the two and opened the box slowly. She held the two pieces of clothing in the air.

"What are these?" she asked grinning.

"It's a bra and matching hot pants." Brooke said proudly.

"Why did you buy me underwear?" Haley asked laughing.

"Because you need to look hot for our friend Nathan." Brooke said. Haley rolled her eyes.

"He's never gonna see me in these." Haley said smiling while putting the underwear back in the box.

"Oh, don't be like that." Brooke said smiling.

"But thank you both. It's a very nice thought." Haley said smiling.

"Which is exactly what Nathan will be having after seeing these on you." Brooke said grinning.

"Eew, Brooke." Peyton said.

"Something tells me this was all Brooke's idea." Haley said looking at Peyton.

"Smart girl." Peyton said grinning.

"But thanks, I really appreciate it." Haley said and hugged them both.

"Great, now go back to sit. We still have your hair to finish." Brooke ordered smiling.

"Ay, ay, ma'am." She said and saluted before sitting. Suddenly Tim came to the living room. He was sweating and holding a basketball.

"Tim! You haven't even showered yet! You're gonna be late." Haley said.

"Relax, I was just playing ball."

"Go get ready!"

"Alright, alright. Bitte, bleib cool." Tim said. Peyton, Brooke and Haley blinked. "It's German, ok? I study German." He said while walking upstairs. "So, studying German makes me weird... Well you're all weird." Tim muttered while walking towards the bathroom.

After showering he went to his room. He stepped inside and saw a gift wrapped box on his bed. He went to sit on his bed and took the box in his hands. He read the small card from the top of the box 'Happy birthday, loser.' He opened it and took a shiny flask out of the box and smiled. It had 'Tim' engraved on the front side. Tim shook his head laughing.

--------

"Colin Farrell or Justin Timberlake?" Peyton asked while doing Haley's hair.

"Farrell, no doubt about it." Brooke said while choosing the right eye shadow color from Haley's make up bag.

"But Justin's a really sweet guy." Haley defended.

"You met him?" Brooke asked surprised.

"Yeah, he was hosting SNL when I was the musical guest. He's cool."

"Alright, Ville Valo or James Hetfield?" Peyton asked. Brooke and Haley turned to look at her. "What?" she asked.

"Who the hell is Ville Valo?"

"Isn't James Hetfield that Metallica guy?"

"Yes, he is. And Ville Valo is the singer from HIM." Peyton said.

"Whatever. Ask again." Haley said.

"Metallica or HIM?" Peyton asked.

blink blink

"What, you don't listen to them at all? Jesus... What about System of a Down? No? Korn? Depeche mode? What the hell's the matter with you!"

blink blink

"Fine, Matt Damon or Ben Affleck?"

"Damon!" Brooke and Haley yelled at the same time while laughing.

"Ok, now we continue our 'which one would you fuck' –game by moving on to the TV-series category." Brooke said with a serious voice while trying not to laugh.

"Alright, I'll continue." Haley said smiling. "Kiefer Sutherland from '24' or Michael Vartan from 'Alias'?"

"Vartan, anytime and anywhere." Brooke said and winked.

"I don't know... but if I'd have to choose, I'd choose Kiefer. His family issues remind me of mine with my dad." Peyton said. "Except I'm not running for my life from killers. Or caught in a hostage situation at a gas station. Or dating a one-armed guy. Or working for the government. Or-"

"So, what is the same?" Haley asked laughing.

"My mom's dead." Peyton said. Haley stared at her with her mouth open.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She said feeling bad.

"That's ok. But like in 24, I'm also very close to my dad. But unfortunately as in the show, I don't see him very often. He's working most of his time." Peyton said.

"I'm sorry. About your dad and your mom. I couldn't imagine living without my mom. She's my best friend." Haley said. There was a short silence.

"Ok, moving on. No moping tonight, girls!" Peyton said smiling.

"Kiefer was also good in 'Stand by Me'." Haley said.

"He was in it?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, he was the bad guy, Ace."

"Really?"

"Uhhuh."

"Alright. Moving on with the questions: Dominic Purcell or Wentworth Miller?" Brooke asked with a dreamy look. Haley looked at Peyton confused.

"I'm lost too." Peyton said to Haley and looked at Brooke. "Went-who?"

"The brothers from 'Prison Break'. You do know that show, right?" She said. Peyton looked lost while Haley waved her hands enthusiastically in the air.

"Wait, that's the show with that hot guy, right?" Haley asked.

"What's the show about?" Peyton asked.

"Well, it's called 'Prison break' so it ain't about butterflies." Brooke said.

"It's about breaking from prison." Haley said smiling.

"Thank you, Ms. State-the-Obvious." Brooke said grinning.

"But there's a lot more to the show." Haley said to Peyton and turned to look at Brooke then. "And the guys you mentioned Wentwer, uh, Wentwur, uh..." Peyton asked.

"Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell." Brooke said.

"...are the brothers with the short hair, right?"

"Yeah, so which one is more do-able?"

"The younger one. The one with the tattoo. I mean, tattoos. Or is it just one big tattoo?" Haley said.

"That's Miller." Brooke said.

"Miller's hot." Haley said smiling.

"Yeah, no kidding. Right, Peyton?"

"Do not know the guy."

"What! I'm so buying that DVD-box for you when it comes out." Brooke said shocked.

"Let's move on." Peyton said.

"I'll go." Haley said. "Sawyer or Jack from 'Lost'?"

"Probably Sawyer." Peyton said.

"Sawyer's fuckable, Jack's date-able." Brooke said and they all laughed.

"Alright, reality TV-show hosts: Jeff Probst or Phil Keoghan." Peyton asked.

"Probst, of course! Are you crazy?" Brooke asked shocked.

"Yes." Peyton said smiling.

"Whatever. Seth or Ryan from the O.C.?" Brooke asked.

"Seth." Peyton said.

"Me too." Brooke said.

"Ryan." Haley said.

"You're into that whole bad boy –thing, huh." Peyton said.

"Yeah, I guess." Haley said.

"Well, a certain Nathan Scott happens to be a bit of a bad boy himself." Brooke said grinning.

"When will you let this go?" Haley asked smiling.

"Not until you two confess your feelings to each other and act on them." Peyton said.

"Sorry to interrupt you girls, but I'm leaving." Tim said behind them. Haley looked at the clock.

"Already?"

"I'm going to hang out at Nathan's and he's driving us there."

"Alright, see you there." Haley said. Tim was about to leave when he suddenly turned around and went to give Haley a hug.

"Thanks for the gift. It's awesome." He said.

"No problem. Glad you liked it." Haley said.

"Oh, mom called by the way. Said happy birthday to both us and said something about a surprise.

"Oooh... Exciting!" Haley said clapping her hands enthusiastically.

"Anyways, I'm gonna go. Later loser." Tim said and winked.

"Bye." Haley yelled laughing after him.

"Alright, we're done with your hair and make up." Brooke announced

"I gotta go change, chicas. But I'll be right back." Haley said and took her stuff and went to her room. She opened the closet and took the first pair of jeans and black top out that she could find. Just when she was about to change, she glanced at something on her bed. She stared at it for a second, then grinned.

Few minutes later Haley stepped out of the room still grinning.

"Alright, we ready to go?" Haley asked from the girls when she got there.

"Yeah, let's go." Brooke said. Peyton looked at Haley carefully.

"Why are you grinning?" she asked smiling.

"No reason." Haley said in an innocent voice and started to walk towards Tim's car smiling. Peyton and Brooke looked at each other before following her.

Then Brooke realized why she was grinning. She turned to look at Peyton.

"She's wearing the hot pants and the bra!"

"Go Nathan!"

* * *

So, how was it? Next chapter is the big party so stay tuned for that. Until then, review. :)

-Fes-


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, everyone! I'm back with an update. It's finally the birthday party chapter. :) Hope you like it. Thank you SO much for the reviews! I never thought I'd get so many so keep it up! You guys rock:)

Chapter 9

"Food?"

"Check."

"Flowers?"

"Check."

"Band?"

"Check."

"DJ?"

"Check."

"Bouncers?"

"Check."

"Camera?"

"Check."

"Guest list?"

"Check."

"VIP list?"

"Check!"

"You having fun?"

"Che- Very funny, Brooke."

"Haley, you're stressing too much. Everything's in place."

"Karen and Peyt, you ready?" Haley yelled to the bar where Karen and Peyton were going through everything.

"If you are." Karen yelled smiling.

"She is. Now let's get this party started!" Brooke said excited and started to drag Haley to the front door. Peyton and Karen were walking behind them. Haley sighed deeply and opened the front doors. They all looked in shock at the huge line of people that were waiting to get in. Haley saw a few familiar faces but most of them were Tim's friends.

"You girls ready?" one of the bouncers, that Haley recognized from her mom's night club, asked her.

"Yeah, Eddie. Let them in." She said and went back to the bar with the girls. They went to sit on one of the tables close to the stage. People were starting to get in and the DJ started to play songs. Haley looked at the people who were starting to get in the club.

"Here we go..." she mumbled.

One hour later

The place was packed even though it had been only an hour since the doors opened. There were a lot of people dancing and hanging out at the bar and the rest were just scattered around. Haley, Brooke and Peyton had reserved a table for their group next to the stage.

"Where the hell are the guys? They were supposed to be here like an hour ago." Brooke complained.

"Did you see that line outside? They're probably stuck there." Peyton said.

"You did tell them that their names are on the VIP list?" Haley asked.

"That's the same as guest list?" Brooke said.

"No, not really." Haley said smiling.

"What's the difference anyway?" Peyton asked.

"You don't have to stay on line if you're a VIP. They can just cut everyone. There's only like 10 names on the VIP list and the rest are guests." Haley said smiling.

"Oops." Brooke said.

"No problem, I'm gonna go get them. Oh, here's the camera for you. Take pictures, alright?" Haley said smiling and handed the camera to Brooke and Peyton. She walked towards the front door quickly while trying to avoid everyone's stares. The town still hadn't gotten used to her being there.

Haley went to stand next to the two bouncers who were checking names from the lists.

"How we doing here?" she asked.

"Good." He said. Haley saw Tim, Nathan, Lucas and Jake at the end of the line.

"Hey Travis, do you remember my brother Tim? Well the idiot doesn't know he's on the VIP list. He's on the back of the line with his friends. Can you go get them?" Haley asked.

"Sure, be right back." He said and went to get the guys.

"Your names were on the VIP list." Haley said when Tim and the guys came to the front.

"You kidding? Brooke told us it was on guest list." Tim said.

"She didn't know there was a difference." Haley said and winked. Tim rolled her eyes while laughing. He then turned to look at Eddie.

"Eddie! Long time no see! So, I see you're still in the business." Tim said.

"What else can a 220-pound ex-bodybuilder do these days?" he asked joking.

"Eddie, Travis. These are our friends Nathan, Lucas and Jake. Guys, these are my mom's club's bouncers Eddie and Travis." They all exchanged hey's.

"So, slow night?" Tim asked.

"Like a church compared to LA."

"Any bunnies?" Haley asked laughing.

"About 30 attempts. 4 actually got the guts to try to just run in and push us to the side. Poor bastards." Travis said laughing.

"Anyways, we're gonna go back inside. You guys have a good night and be gentle on the bunnies." Haley said winking.

"We can't promise anything." Travis said laughing.

"Later guys." Haley said laughing and went back inside with the guys.

"We're sitting next to the stage." Haley told the guys while pointing towards the table.

"What's a bunny?" Lucas asked once they got to the table.

"Someone whose name is not on the list but tries to get in anyways using dumb excuses like 'I know the manager' or 'my friends are already inside'." Tim explained.

"Funny... When is the band playing?" Nathan asked.

"Soon. I just want everyone to get in first." Haley said.

"Honey, you gotta try the food. It's delicious!" Brooke said to Lucas.

"Where's the food?" Tim asked enthusiastically.

"Behind the bar." Haley said and pointed at the direction.

"Fooood..." Tim mumbled while leaving towards the table.

"We'll be back soon." Nathan said to Haley and left with Lucas and Jake.

"Haley, I'm telling you. You and Nathan would be great together." Brooke said.

"Brooke, give it a rest. It's not gonna happen." Haley said.

"What's not gonna happen?" A voice asked behind Haley. Haley turned around to find her friend standing behind her with a smirk on her face.

"Kelly!" Haley yelled and gave her a big hug. "I didn't know you were gonna come here! You should've called and I would've picked you from the airport." Haley said.

"I wanted to surprise you. Surprise!" she said smiling.

"Kelly, these are my friends Brooke and Peyton. Girls, this is my good friend Kelly. She also lives in LA just few buildings from mine."

"Hey girls, having fun?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah." Brooke and Peyton said at the same time while grinning madly.

"So... Where is that brother of yours I still haven't met?"

"Getting some food."

"Alright. So, how has North Carolina treated you?"

"Oh, it's been amazing. I love it here." Haley said smiling.

"I always knew you were a small town kind of girl. Glad you're enjoying it."

"How's LA?"

"The same. Oh! Remember my next-door-neighbor?"

"The one with the cats?"

"No, that's two floors down. I'm talking about the redhead."

"The botox-bitch?"

"Yep, that's the one. She got caught dealing drugs. She tried to sell coke to a cop."

"Wow..." Haley said. "Didn't see that one coming. I thought she only used."

"Yeah, I know. Oh and remember the guy from the bagel shop?" Kelly asked excitedly.

"Bob the bagel guy?" Haley asked smiling.

"He finally asked me out!"

"It's about damn time!" Haley said. Right then Kelly's cell phone started to ring. She looked at caller id.

"Oh, it's my agent. I gotta take this. But I'll talk to you later, Hales. Happy birthday again." Kelly left with the cell phone. Haley sat down next to Brooke and Peyton. They guys came back with their food.

"You find everything?" Haley asked.

"Yep." Tim said. "Oh, did I tell you girls who I talked to this morning? Well, lemme tell you. Avril Lavigne!" Tim said excited.

"I've heard that like 5 times already." Nathan said.

"This is delicious." Lucas said with his mouth full food. "Right Brooke?" Brooke and Peyton were still grinning.

"What's wrong with them?" Nathan asked.

"We just talked to Kelly Clarkson!" Brooke yelled after a moment of silence. Haley rolled her eyes laughing.

"What! She's here!" Tim yelled not believing his luck.

"Yeah, she just left to take a phone call or something." Peyton said.

"We got celebrities!" Lucas said laughing.

"Come on, guys. She's my friend." Haley said smiling.

"What other surprises you got for us?" Lucas asked.

"Nothing." She said in an innocent voice.

"Anyways, I just think it's awesome that she's here." Brooke said smiling.

"Good." Haley said. She saw Karen walking towards them.

"Haley, Travis and Eddie wanted me to let you know that this place is full. All the people that RSVP'ed are here." Karen said smiling.

"You serious? That's awesome." Haley said excited. "You guys ready for some live music?"

"Yay!"

"Do you know what comes before Part B?" Haley asked grinning. Everyone except Tim looked at her confused.

"PART A!" Haley and Tim yelled at the same time. Everyone laughed at them.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Haley said and left. She went to the stage behind the curtains where the band was getting ready.

"Hey guys, you ready?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, how's the party?" the singer asked.

"It's good, Fergs. We're already packed." Haley said grinning. "Thanks again for doing this, guys. It means so much to me."

"Hey, no problem. But next time when one of us is having a birthday, you'll be performing!"

"You got it, Will." Haley said and high-fived him.

"Alright, let's get this party started!"

"Alright, I'm gonna go to the stage and introduce you and then the curtain's will open and you can start. Comprendo?" Haley asked smiling.

"Hales, this isn't the first time we're performing."

"Sorry, I'm just really nervous. I want this party to be the best one. Good luck and have fun!" Haley said before taking the microphone and walking in front of the curtains. She tapped the microphone to see if it was on.

"Is this thing on? Oh, it is. Hey, can I get everyone's attention for a second?" Everyone at the bar turned to look at her.

"Hello and thank you so much for coming here today to celebrate Tim's birthday and mine too. I hope you're having fun and believe me it's about to get better. Anyways, let me introduce our live band for tonight which is also my main birthday present for Timmie." Tim looked half surprised half angry. He wasn't expecting another gift and also didn't want to be called Timmie.

"So here you go Timmie, I know you like them. Please, everyone, give a big hand for the... Black Eyed Peas!".

_And the base gets running, running and running, running and..._

People cheered and ran in front of the stage. Haley's friends mouths opened in shock, especially Tim's who thought the band was some lame-ass country band. Haley went to sit next to her friends with a grin.

"Haley!" Tim yelled.

"Yes, dear?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the band?" Tim asked.

"You never asked." She said smiling. Tim was about to say something but decided to drop it and concentrate on the show. Haley looked at her friends and smiled.

Brooke and Lucas were one of the first ones in front of the stage. Jake had his arm around Peyton and they were sitting and watching the show. Tim was... umh, currently standing on a table and making weird dancing (?) moves. Haley turned to look at Nathan only to find him looking back at her.

"Hey." Haley said smiling.

"Hey." He said. Haley opened her mouth and was about to say something when Tim suddenly fell from the table between her and Nathan.

"Tim! You ok?" Haley asked.

"Yeah! This is awesome!" he said and got back up on the table. Haley looked at Nathan and smiled before turning her attention back to the band.

--------

"This is Black Eyed Peas ending. Hope you had fun! Happy Birthday Hales and Tim! Take care everyone! Good night!" the curtains closed and the DJ started to play again.

"That was awesome!" Tim yelled when sitting down again.

"Yeah, no kidding! How the hell did you manage to get the Black Eyed Peas?" Jake asked.

"Oh, we go way back." She said.

"Well, thank god for that cause tonight was so great. People will be talking about this party for years!" Lucas said.

"Thank you, I try my best." Haley said grinning. They were all sitting now by the table.

"You know what we need to do now?" Brooke asked.

"Do we wanna know?" Haley asked laughing with the rest.

"We need to dance!" Brooke said and started to drag people towards the dance floor. After a few songs Haley noticed that Jake and Peyton were making out in the corner and Lucas and Brooke had disappeared. Haley looked at Tim who was doing the robot in front of 5 girls. Haley looked at Nathan and they both burst out laughing at the same time. They started to get close to each other, very close in fact, but as always, suddenly Tim was there.

"Dude, I just almost got 5 chicks!" Tim said yelling behind them. Haley turned to look at him. The moment was gone.

"Great, I'm gonna go find Brooke, I'll talk to you guys later." She said a bit disappointed and left.

"Did I interrupt something?" Tim asked innocently.

"No, nothing." Nathan said.

Haley was walking towards the front door. She desperately needed some fresh air. She opened the door and found Travis and Eddie sitting on the steps smoking.

"Haley, what are you doing out here? You should be inside celebrating your 18th birthday." Eddie said.

"Just needed some fresh air." She said. "I thought you quit smoking." Haley said smiling.

"Yeah, I did. But I started again when Jean left me."

"Eddie, I'm so sorry. How are you holding up?"

"I'll manage."

"Well, if you need anything just call mom and me. She thinks of you as family anyways." Haley said with a smile. She turned to look at Travis.

"So, Trav. How's the fam?"

"They're good. Rick is getting his first tooth and the twins are starting first grade."

"They're that big already? God, I haven't seen them since their 3rd birthday." Haley said. Suddenly the main doors behind them opened.

"Tim. What are you doing here?" Haley asked while turning around to look at him.

"Nothing, just came to see where you are. Hey guys, busy night?" he asked from Travis and Eddie.

"Not really." They said laughing.

"Well, I hope they tipped you well." Tim said.

"Worth the trip." Travis said grinning. Nathan opened the door and found the four outside.

"Hey, here you guys are." He said looking at Haley who was sitting on the steps.

"Yeah, we should probably go inside." Haley said. She started to get up.

"Let me help you." Nathan said and offered his hand. Haley took it and smiled a bit. They started to walk back inside still holding hands when suddenly they heard a voice. A very familiar voice.

"Happy birthday, baby." Haley froze to her spot and went pale. She could recognize that voice anywhere. She slowly turned around while pressing Nathan's hand harder. She looked at Chris Keller in the eyes.

"Hey, Hales." Chris said. He was standing there wearing that trademark smirk. He was obviously drunk and his posse was standing behind him.

"Chris." Haley said coldly. "Sam, Charlie, Michael." Haley said looking at the guys behind him. She knew them all by now. "Long time no see." She said. The guys just nodded their heads towards her.

"Hales-" Chris started but got cut off by Tim.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face here." He said angrily and started to walk towards Chris. Haley let go of Nathan's hand and grabbed Tim's. Haley shook her head to Tim to stop him from doing what he was thinking of doing.

"Tim! Long time no see!" Chris said and tried to give him a hug but Tim pushed him away.

"You better leave, Chris. Now!" he said starting to get very angry.

"Tim, where's the love? Be cool." He said and turned to look at Haley again. "Besides, I came to see Haley." He suddenly said.

"Don't." Haley said. She knew what he was going to do.

"It's true. I'm here for you."

"Shut up." she said upset.

"I miss you." He continued and started to walk slowly towards her.

"Stop it!" Haley said more upset. Nathan was standing behind her not knowing what to do. He didn't want to interfere but he was afraid he had to.

"Hales, I made a mistake. I want you back."

"Stop it!" Haley said while shaking in anger.

"I love you." He said when he got in front of her. That was the final straw.

"Shut up!" Haley screamed. "You have no right to be here after what you did to me!"

"Hales-"

"You cheated on me! You broke my heart!"

"I want you back, Haley."

"What! Do you think I'm an idiot!"

"Just give me another chance."

"You had your chance! You blew it! How dare you come here on my birthday!" By now there was a crowd around them. Haley could also see a few reporters but ignored them.

"I realized I made a mistake."

"Too fucking bad!"

"Hales, I love you."

"You don't love me! How could you when you don't even know what love means."

"Hales-"

"Stop calling me Hales! You have no right!"

"I've missed your voice." He said quietly while looking at her with an embarrassed look.

"My voice? What the f-? Oh my god. You were that phone stalker!"

"So I made a few calls."

"You asshole!"

"Please, give me a chance."

"Fuck off." She said with a cold voice and started to turn around. Chris grabbed her arm. Tim and Nathan both reacted the same way. Ready to rip his hand off. Haley lifted her finger in the air to stop them without breaking eye contact with Chris.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." She said coldly. Chris could see fire behind her eyes.

"Come with me." He pleaded.

"Go to hell." Haley said through gritted teeth. Chris took his hand off of hers. Nathan let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Chris looked at him.

"Oh, you're Haley's new? You don't know what you're getting yourself into, man. She's a bitch. You hear me, she's a bitch!" he said. Nathan took an angry step forward and was about to hit him but Tim got to him first.

"Don't you ever talk about my sister like that! Only _I_ get to call her a bitch!" he said to Chris who was lying on the ground holding his chin in pain.

"Haley, you're making a mistake." He said while getting up.

"Good bye, Christopher." Haley said quietly and turned to look at Eddie and Travis. "Eddie, Travis. Could you please escort Mr. Keller and his friends to their cars?"

"Gladly." Travis said grinning. Haley stood at the top of the stairs and glared at the leaving group. When they were gone, Eddie and Travis came back.

"You alright, Haley?" Travis asked worried while Eddie went to make sure the reporters were gone.

"Yeah." She said quietly. She turned to look at Tim. "Keys, please. I'm going home." She said.

"Nathan drove us here but I'm sure he can give both of us a ride." Tim said and turned to look at Nathan

"Yeah, of course."

"No, no, no. I don't want to ruin anyone's party. Stay here."

"No way!" Tim said.

"Tim, it's our birthday. You gotta stay here and entertain the guests."

"You can't go home by yourself. It's your birthday."

"I won't be alone. Dad's home waiting for us, remember?"

"But-"

"I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Fine. I'll stay for two hours." Tim said.

"Three."

"Two and a half.

"Two and three quarters."

"Two and- two thir- no wait, four and fift- goddammit!" Tim said while counting with his fingers. Haley laughed at the expression on her face.

"So, I'll see you in two hours and 45 minutes." She said.

"Fine. You sure you're ok?" Tim asked worried. Haley smiled at her.

"Yeah, of course. I just need to calm down for a sec. See you at home." She said and turned to look at Nathan. "Keys, Nathan."

"What?" he asked confused.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Tim mumbled while smirking. "I'm gonna go back inside now. I'll see you guys later!" he said while staring at Nathan with a 'you hurt her, I'll hurt you' –look. Nathan just nodded his head. Tim waved at Haley before going back inside. Nathan started to walk towards his car.

"What's he talking about?" Haley said and ran after him to keep up.

"Nobody drives my car but me."

"But you shouldn't have to leave. Stay here with your friends."

"I was leaving soon anyways."

"I wanna drive." She said pouting.

"Too bad." He said smirking.

"But-" she said but Nathan opened the passenger side door for Haley.

"Just get in." He said smiling. Haley rolled her eyes smiling but got in.

"You're gonna be alright, Haley." Nathan said while turning the engine on. Haley turned to look at him with a smile.

"I know." She said. Nathan reversed from the parking spot and drove away. Tim, Brooke and Peyton were standing outside Tric, looking at the backlights of Nathan's car.

"You let her leave with him?" Brooke asked surprised.

"She needs someone to talk to. And in this case, I'm not that person." He said.

"So, you trust Nathan?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, of course." He said but not as convincingly as he could have.

"But...?" Peyton asked smirking.

"But if he touches her, I'll kill him." He said nonchalantly. Brooke and Peyton started laughing.

"Come on, calm down. Nathan's a good guy and you know it." Peyton said.

"Not when it comes to his dating record." Tim said. "And my sister's not gonna be one of those girls for him." He said.

"You now Nathan better than that. He's crazy about Haley." Peyton said. Tim was starting to get annoyed with the conversation.

"Shut up, Peyton." He said annoyed.

"Or else?" she asked grinning. She loved annoying Tim.

"Or I'll make it shut."

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots."

"But you're wearing sneakers."

"You did _not_ just say that."

* * *

So, how was it? Hopefully it was what you expected. :) More drama next chapter. Don't forget to leave your review!

-Fes-


	10. Chapter 10a

Hey everyone! Thank you SO much for all the reviews, you guys are way too kind. Anyways, I originally had only one chapter for the 10th but decided to divide it into two parts. Anyways, here's chapter 10a. Hope you enjoy it and don't forget to review. :)

_Dedicated to my brother. Thanks for being my best friend and the inspiration behind the whole Haley-Tim relationship. Happy 17th b-day, loser. ;) Love you._

Chapter 10a

"Thanks for the ride, Nate." Haley said when Nathan stopped the car in front of her house.

"You gonna be ok?" he asked worried.

"Stop asking me that. I'm fine." She said smiling.

"Okay, good night then." He said smiling.

"Yeah, see you later." She said and opened the door. She was about to get out when she looked at Nathan one more time.

"Thanks. Not just for the ride. Thanks for everything." She said and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She let her lips linger on Nathan's cheek few seconds longer than needed. "Good night." She said blushing and got out. Nathan reversed and parked the car in front of his own house while grinning.

Haley left the car and walked to her front door with a smile. She started to look for her house keys from her purse when she realized she had left the purse at the club.

"Shit." She cursed when she realized her cell phone was at the club too. She pressed the doorbell and waited for her dad to open the door.

After a few minutes she gave up and tried to find the spare key. She looked from under every rug, vase and furniture on the porch but she couldn't find it. She tried the back door but it wasn't open. She knocked on the door one more time but it was clear there was no one home. She looked at the other side of the yard and smiled.

After dropping off Haley, Nathan went home. He went to the kitchen to get a quick snack. He looked at the fridge and tried to find something to eat.

"Chinese... Cake... Some soup... Don't wanna know what that is... Score! Pizza!" he muttered while taking a few bites from the cold pizza before putting it back in the fridge. He then went upstairs to take a shower.

Had he eaten two minutes longer or even taken two minutes to check the mail or watch some TV, he would have heard the doorbell. Or the knocking after that. And the banging that followed. But since he was a fast eater and didn't care for the mail, he was in the middle of taking a shower when Haley was waiting for someone to open his front door.

Haley was annoyed. She was starting to get sick of standing behind front doors waiting for someone to open them. After waiting for few more minutes she tried the door handle in frustration and to her surprise, it wasn't locked. She cursed herself for not trying it earlier. She opened the door and peaked inside the house.

"Hello? Anyone here? Nathan?" she yelled but no one answered. She looked around and started to wander around. She found herself in the kitchen going through the fridge.

"Let's see what we have here..." she mumbled while looking through it. "Score! Pizza!" she said and took the pizza out. "Eew, someone's already taken a bite." She mumbled but ate some anyways.

She heard some noises upstairs and decided to go there.

"Hello? Nathan?" she asked while taking the last step on the stairs. She saw a door to her left that was open. She peaked in and smiled. There was no doubt that it wasn't Nathan's room with all the basketball trophies and Eminem posters.

"Hello?" she asked one more time before going in. Since she didn't get an answer she went in and started to look around. Haley looked through the room and trophies. She spotted a framed picture of his high school basketball team.

Haley took the picture and went to sit on his bed. She immediately spotted Lucas, Jake and Nathan from the picture. She smiled when she saw Tim making a funny face for the camera. She would've studied it more, if she hadn't been interrupted.

"Whoa! Haley!" Nathan said shocked when he saw her sitting on his bed. Haley lifted his head to look at Nathan who had a towel wrapped around him. Haley blushed a bit and stood up.

"I couldn't get into my house." She said smiling.

"Oh." Nathan said and walked in his room and started to go through his closet.

"I hope you don't mind that I came here. You were just the obvious choice cause you live next door and I know you but I didn't mean to just come in, I did use the doorbell and I knocked like 5 minutes but you were obviously taking a shower so you couldn't-"

"It's fine." Nathan said interrupting Haley's rampage. Haley looked at Nathan with an embarrassed look.

"Where's the bathroom?" she asked quickly.

"Down the hall, to the right." He said grinning. Haley left the room quickly. She found the bathroom and got in. The bath tub was still wet and the air was humid. Haley wiped the mirror and looked at her reflection.

After a minute or two she washed her hands and went back to Nathan's room. Nathan, for Haley's misfortune, was fully clothed and hectically trying to clean his room.

He turned to look at Haley while holding about five pairs of jeans and three shirts. He quickly threw them behind him. A pair of boxers fell from the clothing pile. Nathan quickly kicked them under his bed. Haley smoothly changed her laughter into a cough. They both stared at each other for few seconds.

"So..." they both started at the same time. _Such a cliché _Haley thought smiling.

"So, you said that you couldn't get into your house?" Nathan said.

"Yeah, I left my purse at the club so I didn't have my keys. My dad was supposed to be at home but I guess he got something to do. Probably something with the She-devil. Something that concerns half of his money, cause that gold digging skank is too lazy to get a fucking job and I swear to god, someday I'm gonna rip her-" Nathan coughed and Haley looked at him embarrassed.

"Anyways, so I couldn't find my keys or my dad so I came here cause I knew you were home." Haley said. "I hope that's ok-"

"Haley, you can come here whenever you want. The door's always open." Nathan said.

"Thanks." She said.

"I mean _literally_ open. The lock's broken." Nathan said.

"Ok." She said laughing and looked around. She saw a neatly wrapped small present on his table.

"Is this...?" she started.

"Oh, yeah. That's for you. You can open it now or later. Whatever." He said with an embarrassed voice. Haley started to open it slowly.

It was a beautiful photo frame that had a picture of Nathan, Haley, Tim, Brooke, Lucas, Jake and Peyton. It was taken by the pool and they were grinning madly. Haley was lying on her stomach, her feet in the air. Brooke and Peyton were sitting next to her while holding a 'Cosmopolitan' and a nail polish. Nathan was standing behind them shirtless and sweaty while holding a basketball. Jake, Lucas and Tim were next to him goofing around.

"Nathan, this is really nice." She said. "The frame is beautiful and the picture's just perfect."

"Your dad gave me the picture."

"Yeah, I remember him taking this picture that one day." She said. She then turned to look at Nathan. "Thank you so much." She said and hugged him. She gave him a small kiss on the cheek. She could feel his breath on her neck and she blushed and took a step back.

"So, do you want anything?" Nathan asked changing the subject. "Something to drink? Food? Vodka?" Nathan asked. Haley laughed out loud.

"I'll just wait till Tim comes back home." She said.

"So, what do you wanna do in the meantime?" Nathan asked. Haley looked at him with a grin.

15 minutes later

"Oh! You did not just do that, girl!"

"Wait, what happened to your lil' guy, Nate? Did I hurt him?"

"Just wait till he gets up again, you're so gonna get it."

"Oh, bring it on! I'm waiting." She said grinning.

"Here he comes!"

"Oh, I'm waiting. Actually starting to get a bit bored- wait, what just happened?" Haley asked confused.

"I killed your guy." Nathan said and put his controller down. Haley pouted while looking at the TV screen that said "Game Over". She threw her controller lazily on the floor. She was sitting next to Nathan on his bed playing Playstation.

"This game sucks." She said smiling a bit.

"Yeah." he said and put the normal channels on again. He looked at screen and laughed. "Is that you?" Haley turned to look at the screen and saw her own face on it.

_This is the fabulous life of Haley James._

Nathan laughed out loud. Haley tried to grab the remote control from his hands.

"Give me that... We're so not watching this." Haley said while trying to get it from Nathan's hands. Nathan wouldn't give up the control and actually managed to press the volume loader.

_Though Haley James was only fourteen when she started her career, she has been able to make herself a regular in the Hollywood music business._

"Nathan! I'm so not watching this." She said. Nathan held the remote control behind his back so she couldn't get it. Haley looked at him with a grin before tackling him. She tried to tickle him and grab the remote at the same time but only ended up lying on top of him while grabbing his arm trying to get the remote from his hands.

As in all the movies and TV-series, Nathan suddenly realized the position he was in and started to get up. Haley looked at him for a second and then sat up so she wasn't lying on top of him anymore.

She helped Nathan sit up who in turn looked at Haley surprised when she didn't move away from his lap. Haley stayed on his lap, straddling him for few more seconds before getting closer to him and giving him a small, soft kiss on the lips. She then looked at him again.

Nathan stared at Haley in shock. Sure he had been thinking about that moment for the past three weeks but had no idea just how it could be. Haley looked at Nathan and licked her lips. That small movement made Nathan snap out of his thought. He pressed his lips against Haley's and waited for her reaction.

He didn't have to wait long. Haley wrapped her arms around his neck and responded to the kiss. Nathan wrapped his hands tightly around her bringing her closer.

--------

"Is that Haley's purse?" Brooke asked pointing at a small black purse that was lying by the table they were sitting earlier.

"Yeah, she must've forgotten it here." Tim said.

"I'll take it." Peyton said and grinned at Tim. "Unless you want it."

"Don't think so." Tim shook his head while thinking how gay he would look with it.

"I still can't believe Chris had the nerve to show up here on her birthday." Brooke said.

"And I still can't believe you hit him in front of all those people." Jake said. "But way to go!" he said and high fived him.

"You do realize it's gonna be on the cover of every tabloid?" Lucas asked laughing.

"Yeah, I just hope they got a good shot of Chris getting beat up." Tim said smiling. He's cell phone started to ring.

"Hello?... Wait, calm down... What!... Where?... I'll be right there." Tim shut the phone with shaky hands.

"Is everything alright?" Peyton asked worried.

"Not even close." He said quietly. "We need to go. Now!"

-------------

Nathan and Haley were still kissing each other in the same position on his bed, the only difference was that Haley had just taken Nathan's shirt off. She let her hands wander on his abs, his back, his neck, his hair... But she felt like she needed more skin. She broke the kiss for few seconds to get rid of her own shirt. She revealed the black, satin bra she had gotten from Brooke. Nathan almost swallowed his tongue when he saw it.

"Wow." He said while staring at her.

"Just wait till you see the hot pants." She said grinning.

"The say-what-pants?" He asked not believing his ears. Haley rolled her eyes laughing and kissed him again.

After few more minutes of kissing hungrily Nathan's cell phone started to ring. Both ignored it. Then it started to ring again. They ignored it again. When it rang the third time, Nathan groaned in annoyance and moved Haley off his lap. He reached for the small phone and looked at the caller id.

"It's Tim." He said.

"Don't answer." Haley said smiling. Nathan grinned and shut the whole thing. He turned to look at her with a smirk.

"Now, where was I..." he said grinning while Haley giggled. Nathan leaned on her so he was on top of her while sucking her neck softly.

Nathan couldn't believe the situation he was in. It definitely wasn't the first time he was in bed with someone, but Haley wasn't just someone. She was Haley. His Haley. He had never felt like that towards any girl before but it was the best feeling ever.

Haley was going crazy. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like that. So into someone, so happy, so free, so... what was the word she was looking for? Oh yes, _horny_. If someone would've mentioned Chris Keller right then, she would've asked Chris who? Haley started to unbuckle her belt and tried to get her jeans off without success. Nathan looked at her grinning.

"Need some help?" he asked.

"Please?" she whispered in his ear and licked his neck. Nathan shivered and helped her take her jeans off. Nathan was about to start kissing her again when he noticed her hot pants.

"Jesus Christ, what are these?"

"Hot pants." She giggled.

"They don't call them hot for no reason." He mumbled before concentrating on her lips again.

----------

"Could you drive _any_ slowlier?" Tim snapped from the passenger side. Lucas turned to look at him.

"I'm already driving 20 above the limit." He said.

"Come on, floor it."

"He's going as fast as he can, Tim." Brooke said from the back seat where she was sandwiched between Jake and Peyton.

"Not fast enough! I have to get there now!"

"I know and I'm doing the best I can." He said.

"You should've let me drive." Tim said.

"You're in no condition to drive, Tim." Brooke said from the back seat. Tim turned to glare at her but didn't say anything.

"Everything's gonna be fine, Tim." Peyton said quietly even though she was nothing but sure.

"I hope so." Tim said quietly. "Let's just get there as fast as possible."

---------

"You ok?" Nathan murmured in Haley's ear. She was lying naked on top of him trying to catch her breath.

"So much more than ok." She whispered smiling. Nathan smiled and pulled the covers on top of them to keep them warm. Not that they actually needed because of sweating so much, but it was a sweet gesture.

"So, what happens now?" It pained Nathan to ask that question but it needed to be done.

"I don't know." Haley said and hugged him tighter.

"So, are we like dating now or..." he asked. Haley decided that this was not the time or place to talk about it.

"You think I'm not into cheap, meaningless sex?" She asked grinning madly. Nathan opened his mouth in shock. Haley laughed when she saw the look on his face. "Kidding!" she said.

"Good." He murmured to her hair.

After listening to Nathan's heart beat for few minutes, Haley started to get up.

"Where are you going?" Nathan asked when Haley sat up.

"_We_ are going." She said while trying to pull him up.

"I don't wanna leave." He said in a baby voice.

"Too bad." She said grinning. "Let's go."

"Nope." He said and wouldn't move a muscle.

"Ok." Haley said. "I'm just gonna have to shower alone then I guess." She had barely finished the sentence when Nathan was already standing by the door looking at her.

"You coming or what?" he said grinning. Haley just giggled while following.

-----------

"Nathan still not answering?" Tim asked.

"It goes straight to the voice mail." Brooke said from the back seat.

"And we have Haley's cell so we can't get a hold of her either." Peyton said.

"Did you try Nathan's house number?" Tim asked.

"Yeah and yours too. No one's answering."

"But don't worry about Haley, she's probably with Nathan." Jake said. Peyton and Brooke both smacked him behind his head.

"Yeah, I can't wait to talk to Nathan about that." Tim said through gritted teeth.

"Haley's fine, don't worry about her. And you said you're ok with them hanging out." Brooke said.

"We're here." Lucas announced. Tim looked at the sign in front of the main doors.

_Tree Hill Hospital._

_

* * *

_

So, how was it? Let me know what you think.

-Fes-


	11. Chapter 10b

Hey folks! Thanks you so much for all the über-nice reviews! You guys are the best. Anyways, here's the second part of the 10th chapter. Enjoy and don't forget to review. :)

Chapter 10b

"Catch." Haley caught the towel Nathan threw towards her. He wrapped his own around him. Haley looked at the pink, soft towel on her hands.

"Pink?" she asked laughing while toweling herself.

"My mom bought it." He said.

"Where are your parents anyway?" she asked while looking for her clothes.

"My mom is in Boston, Dallas, New York or Chicago. Hard to keep up. Dad's off somewhere with his newest ho." He said.

"Sorry." She said while putting on her underwear.

"It's ok. I don't get along with my dad so it's better if he's gone." Nathan looked at Haley who was standing wearing nothing but the hot pants and the bra, looking for the rest of her clothes. Nathan went behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and started to suck her neck softly.

"No, I gotta go home." She said enjoying the feel of his lips on her skin. "Tim's probably home worried and pissed." She said. That reminded Nathan of the phone call he had gotten. He took his cell phone and turned it on.

"Whoa. I've got 6 messages in my voice mail." He said.

"Who are they from?" Haley asked. Nathan listened to the messages.

"They're all from Tim and the gang. They all say I should call them." He said after listening to them.

"Well, call them." Haley said worried. Nathan called Tim who answered immediately.

"Hey, what's up... I'm at home... Yeah, she's here." Tim handed the phone to her. "He wants to talk to you." Haley took the phone from him.

"Tim?" Haley asked worried. "What?" Nathan looked at her face go from worried to shocked to devastated. After a few minutes she let the phone drop on the floor and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Haley?" he asked and touched her shoulder. Haley blinked. She stared at Nathan for two seconds and then started to run furiously around the room.

"We gotta leave now." She said while pulling her jeans on.

"What's wrong?" he asked not moving.

"Where the hell is my shirt?" she asked panicking. Nathan quickly put his clothes on and turned to look at Haley.

"What's going on?" he asked again. Haley was still looking for her shirt.

"It's gotta be here somewhere!" she yelled shaking. Nathan grabbed Haley by the shoulders and forced her to look at him.

"What's wrong, Haley?" he asked worried. The mention of her name made Haley look him in the eyes.

"Tim called." She said shaking. "He's at the hospital. There's been a car accident."

"Your dad?" Nathan asked shocked. Haley shook her head.

"My mom." She whispered. Nathan looked at her shocked. He knew how close Haley was to her mother. Nathan saw that she was about to lose it. He grabbed a sweatshirt and gave it to her.

"Wear this. I'll drive." Haley quickly put the sweatshirt on and started to run towards his car. Nathan was right behind her making sure she didn't forget anything important like her shoes that he was holding in his hands.

"Hurry up, Nathan!" Haley snapped when she got to the car and Nathan wasn't there yet.

"I'm right here." He said and opened the door. He gave her the shoes and reversed from the driveway.

"I can't believe this is happening." Haley said almost crying in the car. Nathan didn't know what to say so he just drove as fast as he could to the hospital. Nathan parked the car next to the doors and got out. Haley was already running inside. Nathan caught up with her at the reception.

"... her name is Lydia James. She was in a car accident." Haley said as fast as possible.

"She's still in the operation-"

"Which floor?" Haley cut her off.

"It's in the fourth floor but you can't-" Haley was already running towards the staircase. Nathan followed her.

---------

Tim, Tim's dad, Jake, Peyton, Brooke and Lucas were in the waiting room in the fourth floor. They were right next to the door that led to the operations room where they weren't allowed.

Jake and Peyton were whispering quietly to each other. Brooke was resting her head on Lucas' shoulder. Peter was trying to calm down Tim who was standing in front of the O.R harassing anyone wearing a long white jacket.

"Son, please calm down." Peter begged.

"I need to know how the operation is going!"

"The doctors are doing everything they can. We can't help her now."

"She's my mom! I can't just sit down!" he said while running his hand through his hair.

"I can't believe this is happening." Lucas muttered.

"Yeah, you never think it could happen to someone you know." Brooke said. She suddenly lifted her head from Lucas's shoulder. He turned to look at her.

"You ok?" Brooke pointed her finger at the end of the hallway.

Tim was still fighting with his dad whether to sit or not when his dad suddenly looked over his shoulder. Tim turned around and saw Haley running as fast as she could with her heels towards them. Nathan was right behind her. Tim took a step forward and caught Haley.

"No, Tim. Let me go!" she tried to get free but Tim held her.

"We can't go there."

"I need to see her!"

"She's still in OR." He said.

"What the hell happened!" Haley asked.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"She was supposed to be in Europe for another week! What the hell is she doing in a hospital in North Carolina!" Haley yelled confused. Tim realized he had no idea. Peter sighed and looked down.

"Dad?" Haley asked. Peter sighed again.

"Your mom called me a few days ago. She said she was sick of European food and wanted to come back early. She wanted to surprise you both on your birthday. She was in a cab about 5 miles from our home when the driver lost control of the car. He died instantly." He ended. Haley sat down in shock.

"Mom wanted to surprise us?" she asked with tears in her eyes. Peter just looked down and went to sit next to her. Tim hadn't moved from his spot. Peter looked at his son with a worried look.

"Tim?" he asked. Tim turned around and went to sit next to Haley. She looked at him with sad face. Tim wrapped his arm around her and looked at her but she was looking at the floor.

"Haley, look at me." Haley turned to look at him. "Mom's gonna be alright. She will wake up and laugh at us for worrying so damn much. You know mom, she's strong. She won't go down without a fight. She ran a frigging marathon last summer for god's sake." Tim ended. Haley just nodded her head. She couldn't help but fear the worst.

She got up and went to get a soda from the machine. She realized she had no cash. She turned around and looked at everyone in the room.

"Does anyone have one dollar?" she asked. They all looked at her confused and worried.

"Does anyone have a frigging dollar!" she asked a bit louder starting to lose her patience. Brooke handed her the money.

Haley took it while mumbling a quick 'thanks'. She put the money in the machine and pressed for Mountain Dew. Nothing happened. She sighed angrily and pushed it again. Still nothing. Haley started to kick and hit the machine furiously. Everyone else looked at her in shock. Nathan quickly got up and went to her. He took a hold of her hands and turned her around.

"Haley, it's ok. It's ok." He whispered.

"No, it's not! My mom might die! It's so not ok!" she yelled. She looked at Nathan with a helpless look. Nathan had never felt so bad for anyone else. They were silent for a while until they heard a thump. Haley turned to look behind her at the machine. She picked up a can.

"Mountain Dew." She mumbled before going back to sit with Nathan.

Haley sat between Tim and Nathan. She didn't know how long but the more time went by, the more certain she was that things were about to get worse.

"Anyone here for Ms. James?" The whole room looked at the doctor. And then they all got up.

"She's our mom." Tim said hugging Haley.

"As you know, Ms. James was in a car accident. The driver lost the control of the car and they hit a light post. The driver died instantly. She had a concussion and a broken arm but those were not what we are concerned about." The doctor said.

"What is it?" Haley asked.

"Ms. James's lung collapsed but she was able to recover from it because of the operation."

"So, she's fine?" Tim asked.

"She's in recovery right now. But her condition is not to the best yet. There's still a chance something might happen."

"Is she awake?" Haley asked with a shaky breath.

"She's in room 4085. You may go but don't stay longer than half an hour. She needs her rest." The doctor said. Tim looked at Haley with a grin. He hugged her tightly and spinned her around.

"She's fine!" he yelled. "Come on, we should go see her." He said and started to pull her towards the room. He turned to look at his dad and his friends. "You coming or what?" The others followed them in front of the room. Tim and Haley went in.

"Maybe we should wait outside. I bet they want to catch up, you know." Peter suggested.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Nathan said and took a seat next to the door.

--------

"...and then the 'Black Eyed Peas' started playing! Mom, it was so awesome!" Tim finished. Lydia smiled softly at her son.

"I'm glad you had fun. Sorry I couldn't be there, honey." Lydia said.

"I'm just glad you're here now, mom." Tim said. "I mean not here in the hospital but here with me. With us." He said looking at Haley.

"So, Haley-bub. How has the summer been?" Lydia asked from her daughter.

"Fine, mom. How was Europe?"

"The food was terrible but the weather was nice. Can you see my tan?" she asked grinning. Haley looked at her face.

"Actually, you look pale. Are you ok?" Haley asked concerned.

"Of course." She said in a shaky voice.

"So did you have fun in Europe?" she asked.

"Yes, but I missed you both very much." She said.

"I missed you too, mom." Haley said smiling. "But you're here now and that's what matters." She said. "So, tell me more about Europe. Did you meet any hot French guys?" Haley asked grinning.

"And that's my cue to leave." Tim said. "I'm gonna get some coffee. It's been a long night. Hales, you want something?"

"A Cappuccino would be great." Haley said.

"Got it. I'll be right back, mom." He said and left. Haley turned to look at Lydia.

"So, Haley-bub. Any boys in your life?" she asked with a wink.

"No." she said quickly. She didn't know why she bothered to try to lie to her mom. She could always read her like a book.

"So, there's someone. Someone from Tree Hill?"

"No." Haley tried again.

"It's gotta be one of Tim's friends."

"Nope."

"It's Nathan, isn't it?" her mom asked excited. Haley sighed while smiling.

"Mom, I really like him." Haley said smiling shyly.

"Why am I sensing there's a 'but'?"

"It's just so complicated."

"Because of the distance?" she asked.

"And our lives. He's about to start senior year, I'm about to start a tour." Haley said depressed.

"The tour's not final, honey." Lydia said smiling and then looked at her more carefully. "You want to take a year off, don't you?" Lydia asked.

"Yeah, I do." Haley said quietly.

"That's good." Lydia said smiling. "Because I already told Jack that he could forget all thoughts about a tour this year. And I also enrolled you to a high school in LA."

"Really?" she asked smiling.

"Yep, and don't worry about Nathan. If you both want to make it work, you can. Don't worry about the distance. If it's meant to be, it'll survive. There's weekends, holidays... You'll be seeing him more than me." She said.

"Mom, I'll never see anyone as much as you." She said.

"And you love it, don't you." Lydia asked grinning.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." She said. Tim came back with two coffees. He handed the other mug to Haley.

"So, Tim. How have you been?" Lydia asked.

"Good. I can't wait to start senior year too." He said.

"How's basketball?" she asked knowing it was one of the most important things in his life.

"Good. I've been playing a lot with Nathan. He's my-"

"I know who Nathan is, dear." Lydia said smiling.

"I bet you do." He said while looking at Haley who suddenly found her cappuccino very interesting.

"Anyways, I can't wait till the season starts." He said excited.

"I'm sure you'll do great, honey." She said. "I want you both to know that I'm so proud of you. I couldn't have asked for better kids. You make my world." She said. Haley and Tim looked at each other.

"We love you too." Tim said.

"Is your father here too?" Lydia asked.

"Yeah, he's waiting outside with our friends." Haley said.

"Mom, would you like to meet them?" Tim asked.

"Oh, I'd love to." She said.

"Hold on." Tim said and went to get them. One by one they all went in the room with Peter.

"This is Lucas and her girlfriend Brooke." Tim started.

"You're the Brooke who's been spending time with Haley?" Lydia asked.

"Yes." Brooke said with a surprised look.

"Good to finally meet you." Lydia said smiling. She looked at Peyton. "Blonde, curly hair, pretty face. You must be Peyton." She said. Peyton blushed a little.

"That's me. Nice to meet you."

"Jake's behind Peyton and Lucas is next to him." Tim said.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. James." Lucas said.

"Mrs. James is my mother. Call me Lydia like everyone else." She said smiling.

"And the last one is Nathan." Tim said. Lydia looked at Nathan who was standing quietly by the door.

"Haley, 'cute' doesn't really make justice for that Adonis-like face." She said winking.

"Mom!" Haley said embarrassed when the rest of them laughed. She quickly glanced at Nathan who was smirking at her. Haley rolled her eyes smiling which didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room. "Anyways!" she started. "So, this is our mom." She said smiling.

"How was Europe?" Brooke asked.

"Food was awful and I missed my babies." She said looking at Haley and Tim. There was a short silence.

"I think we're gonna go find something to eat from the cafeteria." Peyton said and looked at the group.

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you, Mrs. –I mean Lydia." Jake said.

"Nice to meet you all." She said smiling. Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Jake and Nathan left. Peter, Haley and Tim stayed in the room.

"They seem nice." Lydia said. "Especially Nathan. He's a keeper, Hales." She said winking.

"Mom!" Haley yelled but laughed. Tim looked at Haley with a smile. It was good to see her actually smile.

"Honey, I just want you to be happy." She said looking at Haley. She then turned to look at Tim. "And you too, honey."

"We are as soon as you get out of here." Haley said. Lydia didn't say anything, just smiled a little.

"We missed you." Tim said.

"Mom, I can't tell you how happy I am that you're ok." Haley said holding back her tears. "I wouldn't have survived if you had..." Haley swallowed the rest of the sentence. Lydia squeezed her daughter's hand.

"You are strong. Both of you. Stronger than you think. You can conquer anything you want as long as you stick together." She said and tried to cover her yawn.

"You must be tired." Haley said.

"No-"

"We'll leave you to get some rest."

"You don't hav-"

"Mom, just rest, ok?" Haley asked. Her mom nodded her head.

"I love you both very much." She said before Tim and Haley could get out.

"I love you too, mom." Haley and Tim said. Peter was about to get out of the room when Lydia spoke.

"Peter, can I talk to you for a minute?" Lydia asked.

"Of course." He said and closed the door. Haley and Tim looked at the closed door with a grin. They looked through the window at their mom and dad laughing at something.

"Do you think...? Tim started.

"I don't know." Haley said. "She looks so happy."

"Come on, let's give them some privacy." Tim said and looked at her mom one last time.

Haley and Tim made their way towards the cafeteria where their friends where.

"Hey, you guys ok?" Brooke asked worried when they got to them.

"Yeah, it's all good now." Tim said taking two chairs for him and Haley.

"She's talking to dad right now." Haley said smiling.

"She's gonna be fine, right?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, thank god." Haley mumbled.

"So, when does she get out?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. As soon as possible, I guess." Tim said.

"So, you're going back to LA when she gets out?" Jake asked looking at Haley. Haley glanced at Nathan who looked at the ground with an uncomfortable look.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know. Probably." She said. "Oh, guess what. I'm not going on a tour this fall. Mom called my manager and took care of it." she said.

"Excellent! So, what are you gonna do?" Brooke asked.

"Mom enrolled me to a high school in LA." She said.

"You excited?" Peyton said.

"Yeah, I guess. I've been home schooled since 8th grade so it's gonna be exciting. Senior year, here I come." She said smiling while the others laughed.

_Code red in 4085, code red in 4085_

"Wait, that's mom's room!" Tim said getting up.

"What the hell is code red!" Haley asked while getting up too.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good." Tim said. They started to run towards the room. Haley saw a lot of doctors rushing in the room and his dad outside the room looking in with a worried look.

"Dad!" Haley yelled when she got to him. Peter hugged her tightly.

"Dad, what happened?" Tim asked worried while looking inside the room. The door was open so they could see and hear everything. There were a lot of doctors around the bed doing whatever they always did.

"I don't know, Tim. We were talking and she suddenly went pale and then closed her eyes. Then the heart monitor started beeping and the doctors came." Peter said while looking inside the room concerned.

After that everything happened in slow motion for Haley. She couldn't hear anything except her own heavy breathing. She could see the doctors doing their best. She saw them giving her CPR and electro shocks.

She stood outside the room looking in for at least 20 minutes. Then suddenly everything went back to normal speed. She could see everything and hear everything.

But as soon as she heard the words from the doctors, she hoped she could've gone back to the slow motion.

"Time of death: 2:56 am."

* * *

So, how was it? Good? Bad? Please, let me know. :)

-Fes-


	12. Chapter 11

Hey guys! Thank you all so much for all the awesome reviews. They're the best. Anyways, here's chapter 11. Enjoy and don't forget to review. But you never do forget so just enjoy. (and review). :D

Chapter 11

"Time of death: 2:56 am."

"What?" Tim yelled and turned to look at Haley who couldn't speak. She stood there her mouth open looking at her mom's pale face. She tried to come into terms of what had happened but couldn't.

"You can't stop now! She's not dead!" Tim yelled and ran into the room.

"Son, we did everything we could but there was just too much internal bleeding. She-"

"No! She's not dead! Try again!" he yelled and tried to get to her mom but the doctors stopped.

"Let me through, she's not dead!" Tim yelled. Haley blinked and took a step forward. She needed to be strong for Tim. She put her hand softly on his shoulder.

"Tim..." Haley whispered. Tim stopped yelling and turned to look at her. Tears welled up in his eyes and he hugged her fiercely.

"Oh, Hales..." he said while sobbing on her shoulder. Haley didn't know what to do. She couldn't start crying because she knew she would've broken down completely. And that was the last thing Tim needed. So she didn't let her emotions get the best of her.

Nathan looked at Haley and the emotions on her face. He saw her as shocked, scared and caring but what bothered him was the last expression on her face. The one that didn't change. The one without any emotions.

With a blink of an eye, Nathan saw Haley shut down completely. Her eyes became cold and empty, in another word: dead. Just like her mother.

-----

The next few days went by the same way: Tim sobbing while Haley comforted him without dealing with her own emotions. When Haley wasn't comforting Tim, she was sitting in her room staring out of the window without saying anything.

Peter was also grieving but his main concern was his children. He felt like it was his responsibility to arrange the funeral and take care of Lydia's business for a while.

Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, Jake and Nathan called them and visited them every day and every day Tim told them they didn't want any company. Haley wouldn't even talk on the phone. In fact, she barely talked at all. She had been mostly quiet and the only time she spoke was to calm down Tim and comfort him.

Tim and Haley had shut everyone completely out of their lives except each other. Haley didn't open up even to Tim. Somehow after everything she was still in deep down denial and shock.

Which was why she hadn't even cried yet.

It had been 7 days since the death of her mother but for Haley the days didn't matter. She hadn't slept at all during the nights, just dozed off during the days. She had barely eaten anything but she didn't even feel hunger. It was like her body had shut down completely.

She had been avoiding everyone and everything. But she knew that the day had come when she couldn't continue it anymore. Because that day was the day of her mother's funeral.

"Haley?" Peter opened the door to his daughter's room. Haley was sitting on her bed wearing a gorgeous black dress.

"Are you ready?" Peter asked. Haley nodded her head and got up. She put her black high heeled sandals on and grabbed her huge, black sunglasses. Her hair was up in a tight bun and she had dark but clean make up on. Peter waited by the door for her and closed the door behind her.

"Tim's already downstairs." Peter said when Haley started towards his room. Haley looked at him and nodded her head. She went downstairs and found Tim sitting by the kitchen counter looking sad. There were maids and cooks in the kitchen making sure everything was ready when they got back from the funeral. They were going to have the reception at their house.

Tim lifted his head to look when he saw Haley and Peter enter the kitchen. Tim got up and gave Haley a hug. She hugged him back, just like she had done the entire week.

"You ok?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, you?" she asked concerned.

"I will be." He said and sighed.

"We should go." Peter said. "I hope you don't mind but I invited your friends to come too. I think it's important to have all the people that care about you present." Peter said.

"It's fine, dad." Tim said and got up. The rest of the ride was done in silence.

--------

_"'I am the resurrection and the life that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die, I know that my Redeemer liveth_..."

Haley, Tim and Peter were sitting in the first row listening to the priest. Nathan, Lucas and the rest of their friends were behind them. Eddie and Travis were at the end with the rest of Lydia's colleagues.

Haley had not taken her eyes of the casket. She was watching her mom getting buried. It had been one week since she died. One week since she laughed. One week since she talked more than soothing words to Tim.

Tim was sitting next to her staring at the ground while trying his best not to start crying. Haley had put his hand on top of Tim's and squeezed it lightly. Haley sighed as she heard the familiar psalm, _The Lord is my shepherd_. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. Her mother, her confidant, her best friend was gone.

The priest stopped talking and turned to look at the Haley, Tim and Peter. Peter got up and looked at Haley and Tim. They both got up and went to stand round the open grave. The guys started to lower the coffin slowly while the priest started talking again.

"We therefore commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life." While the priest talked and the coffin was lowered, handfuls of earth was scattered on it. Tim tightened his hold on Haley's hand.

Nathan looked at Haley with a worried look. She was wearing a gorgeous black dress, with matching shoes. Her hair was in a tight bun and she had big sunglasses on. Her face hadn't reacted to anything the priest had said which worried Nathan more than anything. Tim at least had a pained look on his face but Haley hadn't moved a muscle. It was like she didn't quite understand the reality of it.

The funeral was over. Only the reception was left. Peter announced that they would meet at the Smith residence. Tim and Haley followed Peter to his car while the rest of them went to their own cars.

As soon as Haley got to the house, she went to her own room where she intended to stay for the remainder of the day. After about half an hour later her door opened.

"Honey?" Haley didn't need to look to know that it was Peter standing on the doorway. Haley was sitting close to her window staring outside. She had taken her sunglasses and shoes off, other than that she looked the same.

"Haley, why don't you join us downstairs?"

"No thanks." Haley muttered.

"Your friends are also there." He said.

"No thanks." She said. She didn't want to see or talk to anyone.

"Tim misses you." He finally said. Haley turned to look at him. She sighed and got up.

"10 minutes." She mumbled while walking towards him. Peter smiled and held the door open for her. Haley walked downstairs and found Tim sitting on the couch surrounded by his friends. He was talking to Nathan about something but he looked miserable. He turned to look at her.

"Haley! Come here." He said and made room for Haley to sit on the couch. She reluctantly made her way there and sat down.

"How are you holding up?" Brooke asked from her.

"I'm fine." She said without looking up. Haley looked at Tim who wasn't talking to Nathan anymore. He was resting his elbows on his knees covering his face while sobbing quietly. Haley put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. He knew without looking that it was Haley.

Haley wrapped her arm around him and hugged him. Tim turned around and hugged her fiercely. Haley sat there with an emotionless face looking straight ahead while hugging her brother.

---------

"Thanks for coming." Peter said when the last guests left. He closed the door and turned to look at Haley and Tim who were still by the couches with their friends.

"Do you guys need anything?" he asked from the group. Haley and Tim shook their heads. "Alright, if you need me I'll be in my study." He said and left. Tim had stopped sobbing. He was talking with Nathan about something while Brooke tried to cheer Haley up.

Haley suddenly stood up.

"I'll be in my room." She said and left before Tim or Nathan or anyone else had any time to react.

"I'll be right back." Tim muttered and followed Haley.

"I'm worried about her." Brooke said when they were gone.

"Yeah, me too." Nathan said in a quiet voice.

"Her mom died. It's normal to be upset." Jake said.

"But the thing is that she's _not_ upset. She's not sad. She's not even angry. She's still in denial. She hasn't excepted Lydia's death yet. How can se ever be ok with this if she doesn't even grieve?" Brooke asked.

"Is there anything we can do?" Peyton asked.

"If she won't open up to Tim, I don't know who se will." Lucas said. Then they all turned to look at Nathan.

"Wha-? Why would she talk to me?" he asked even though secretly he hoped he could be that person for her.

"You two are close. She trusts you." Brooke said.

"I don't know... I haven't really talked to her since the night at the hospital. She hasn't talked to anyone." He said.

"You're the only one, Nathan. You gotta talk to her." Peyton said.

"Fine, I will once I get the chance." Right then Tim came down and went to talk to his dad.

"How about now?" Brooke asked. Nathan sighed and got up. He walked towards Haley's room. His heart was beating so fast he was certain she could hear it before he even opened the door. He knocked on the door twice and opened it.

"Haley?" he asked softly. Haley stiffened up. She had not expected Nathan to be there. Nathan closed the door and went to sit on her bed which was close to the bean sack she was sitting on. She was looking out the window so her back was towards him.

"How are holding up?" he asked. "Ok, dumb question. You're obviously not doing good." He said and waited for her reaction. He wasn't surprised when she didn't move or say anything.

"The reason why I'm here is cause I'm worried about you. I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear this from since I was the reason you couldn't get to the hospital sooner that night." Nathan said.

Haley closed her eyes. Nathan was right. Haley had been mad that the reason she couldn't get to the hospital sooner was because she was having sex with him. But she was also aware that it wouldn't have mattered whether she got there sooner or not. She was just so confused about the whole night. It had turned from the best night in her life to worst.

"I'm so sorry about your mom, Haley." Nathan continued. "But I'm also worried about you. You don't talk, cry or get angry. Peter told me you haven't really eaten or slept or even sang or played with your guitar. I know you want to be strong for Tim but you've gotta grieve too." He said. Haley didn't say anything.

"You don't have to be the strongest. You're allowed to be miserable too. Don't swallow your emotions, Haley. You can't keep them inside forever." He said and gave her a small kiss on the top of her head. "I'm here for you if you need anything." He said and left. Haley didn't move or say anything but when the door closed, a single tear fell from her eye.

----------

Nathan, Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and Jake all went to their homes after saying good bye to Tim, Haley and Peter.

Tim had went to his room to be on his own while Peter made business calls in his study.

After her friends had left, Haley had changed into her pyjama pants and a tank top. She sat down on her bed and stared at the wall in front of her. Nathan's words kept echoing in her head.

She knew he was right and she knew she had to do something. She had kept all of her emotions and feelings to herself and said to herself over and over again that she shouldn't feel anything. The part that scared her was that she was actually starting to believe that. But Nathan's words had woken her up. Haley looked down and almost fainted when she saw her hand.

It was shaking.

For the past week she had been numb and her body had been limp. She hadn't cried, smiled or laughed and certainly not gotten upset. Now her hand was shaking and she knew it had nothing to do with the coldness. She put her right hand on top of the shaking one but it didn't help.

Then she felt something else.

A familiar knot in her throat she had gotten used to after all the fights with Chris Keller. The feeling when you almost start to cry. She swallowed it back.

Her head started to spin lightly and she knew she couldn't it hold it much longer.

She looked in the mirror at her scared, troubled reflection. _Happy thoughts, Haley. Think happy thoughts. Puppies, babies, ice cream..._ she tried to think but everything made her think even more of her mother. _Ok, positive thoughts... Nathan! Think Nathan!_ But the thought of Nathan only made her miss him more. She swallowed again.

She swallowed harder but she only felt worse. She started to pace around her room furiously while trying to stop the tears that were starting to form. Her whole body was shaking and vision was starting to get blurry. She now had tears in her eyes.

She quickly grabbed Mr. Woffles and hugged him but it didn't have the same effect it used to. She threw the teddy on the floor in anger.

The action surprised her. Not the action itself but how she had done it. Angrily. A feeling she had forgotten in the past week. She spotted the remote control on her bed and grabbed it thinking that the TV might calm her down. She turned it on.

_"... not so good news for Haley James. Her mother Lydia James, the owner of the popular night club "Club 16" died in a car accident last week-"_ Haley's hands started to shake even harder.

_"-and today is the funeral. We couldn't reach Miss James for a comment but we all mourn her loss."_ Her hands were trembling so hard now she thought she might break the remote. Not that she cared.

_"-Her mother was a regular guest in the backstage of her shows and tour and she was also her manager. She will be deeply missed-"_ Haley took a deep, shaky breath when the picture of a smiling Lydia James and a laughing Haley James shopping in Fifth Avenue, New York filled the screen.

She quickly turned the TV off. She was still shaking but now she had a desperate look on her face. She stared at the remote control she was gripping with her shaky hands. Then she threw the thing against her mirror.

"Goddammit!" she yelled and almost collapsed on the floor. She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready to let it all go and accept her mothers death. But it was happening now. The emotions she had tried so hard to suffocate were pouring out of her and she couldn't help it.

She inhaled deeply but couldn't help the small sob that escaped her lips. She looked outside and noticed that it was raining.

"Perfect." It had been sunny the whole week and suddenly it had gotten dark and rainy. Just like inside her head.

She walked past her mirror and froze. Her face was pale and she was shivering. Her eyes were upset and desperate but alive, something they hadn't been for a while.

By now Haley was holding her hands on top of her mouth to prevent the sobs. She was officially losing it and she didn't want to. And most of all, she didn't want to do it alone.

Haley opened her closet and took a pair of blue flip flops and slipped them on. She opened her door and started to walk downstairs. She went through the kitchen, opened the back door and headed towards the familiar house across the lawn.

Peter looked up from his papers when he heard the crash and yell. He got up and went upstairs to check up. He went to Tim's room but noticed it was empty. He saw that the light was on in his bathroom so he opened the door and heard the shower running.

"Tim?" he asked. Tim peeked his head out of the shower.

"Yeah?"

"Everything ok?" he asked. Tim looked at him with a weird face. He obviously hadn't heard the crash from Haley's room.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" he asked suspiciously.

"No reason. Just making sure." He said and smiled. Tim nodded his head. There was a short silence.

"Dad, do you mind...?" Tim asked raising his eyebrows while pointing at the shower.

"Oh, sorry. Of course." He said and left. Right when he closed the bathroom door, he heard another door slam. The back door in the kitchen. He went there and pulled the curtains away and looked outside. His face turned into a worried one when he saw his daughter walk fast in the rain.

He was about to go after her but then he realized she was going towards the Scott's. He smiled a bit and pulled the curtains back before going to Haley's room to clean the mess. He then went back to his study.

Few minutes later, Tim appeared on the door way wrapped in a towel.

"Where's Haley?"

Peter smiled a bit and thought about telling him the truth but he knew what Tim thought about Haley's and Nathan's friendship and Peter didn't want to worry him. "She's with Brooke. She picked up Haley to cheer her up." He said.

"That's good." Tim said. "She needs company."

"You're right." Peter said. "Why don't you try to get some sleep?" he suggested.

"Yeah, good night." He said and started to leave. He turned around to look at him. "I love you, dad." He said.

"I love you too, son." He said. "Good night." Tim nodded and went back to his room for some much needed sleep.

------------

Nathan was trying to get some sleep. He had turned the lights off and was lying under his blanket on his bed. He was staring at the dark ceiling while listening to the rain. His thoughts were on Haley. The way she looked, sounded, smelt, felt... Everything about her. He felt so bad for her and wanted more than anything to just help her but she didn't make it easy.

Had he not been in so deep thought and paid attention to the small foot steps on the stairs, he would've been less shocked when his door was opened and light from the hallway filled his room.

Nathan tried to see who was on the door but it took a few seconds for his eyes to get adjusted to the light. He quickly sat up when he saw the small, wet, shivering girl standing on his door way. Nathan just sat on his bed not knowing what to say or do fearing he would scare her away.

Haley's pyjama pants and a tank top were soaked from the rain and her hair was messy. Her eyes were scared and shiny. _Did she cry_, Nathan wondered. She had her arms crossed over her chest tightly and she was biting her lower lip while shivering violently. Something made Nathan think that the shivering wasn't just because of the rain.

"Haley?" Nathan asked quietly after a while. Something inside Haley snapped at the sound of his voice saying her name. She walked slowly towards him while trying to breath deeply and to not burst out crying. She finally got to his bed and kicked her flip flops off. Without a word she lied down next to Nathan who made her room. Nathan touched her cheek lightly with a worried look. As soon as she could feel his touch, she couldn't hold it.

Haley let out a small sob that was followed by a bigger one. Nathan wrapped his arms around her, pulled her closer and let her cry on his chest.

Nathan couldn't do anything but hold her and stroke her hair and that's what he was planning on doing now matter how long it took.

Haley cried all night and Nathan held her the entire time. Finally after god knows how many hours, she finally didn't have any tears left and she was too exhausted to stay awake.

Right then, right there with Haley finally sleeping peacefully in his arms, Nathan made a promise that he would always protect her. No matter what happened, he would always be there for her.

A small voice inside him reminded that Haley was supposed to fly back to Los Angeles the next day. And that same little voice reminded him that she was a rock star and he was a high school kid. Nathan shook the negative thoughts out of his head and turned to look at Haley who was still sleeping peacefully.

Nathan sighed and kissed her softly on the forehead. He had never felt like that towards anyone before. So much caring, compassion, joy... and love. Nathan surprised even himself with that thought. He had never loved a girl before and a month ago he didn't think he would for a while. He smiled at the thought. It was nice to be in love.

But then that little voice inside his head spoke again. What if she didn't feel the same? What if she would leave him and go back to LA? What if... Nathan shook the thoughts away again. This time he felt helpless. He knew he couldn't force her to stay and that it would have to be her choice.

Nathan had never felt so happy and lost at the same time. For the first time he had no idea what was going to happen and he knew he wouldn't get any answers till the morning. So for now, he just enjoyed the feel of Haley James sleeping in his arms.

Because god only knew if he ever would again.

* * *

So, what do you think? Any thoughts? Please, review.

I won't be able to update until the Sunday of next week (the 26th) since I'm going to Slovakia for a skiing holiday in less then an hour. I'll try to update on that Sunday but can't be sure if I have the time. Anyways, I know most of you don't have a holiday now, but the ones that do: happy skiing holiday:)

-Fes-


	13. Chapter 12

Hey everyone! I'm finally back from Slovakia and with an update. Thank you SO much for all the great reviews. It's always nice to come back home and read all of the sweet reviews. Keep 'em coming:) Anyways, on with the story. Here's chapter 12 from Colgate Soulmate. :)

Chapter 12

Haley woke up around six a.m. She turned to look at Nathan. She was surprised to find him staring back at her with a worried look.

"Hey." She said in a small voice.

"Hey."

"I hope I didn't wake you up."

"No." he said while stoking her hair.

"Oh." She said confused. Then she realized. "You never fell asleep, right."

"Nope, but don't worry about that. How are you?"

"I don't know. I'm just starting to accept my mother's death but it doesn't make the pain away. In fact, I'm feeling much worse than the past week." She said.

"That's good." He said and then realized what he just said. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that. I never want you to feel any pain and if I could I would take it all away. I just think it's good that you're starting to come to terms with the situation and finally mourning." He said.

"Yeah..." she said in a small voice.

"Time heals all wounds, don't forget." He said.

"I hope so." She said and put her head on top of his chest.

For about an hour they both just laid still Haley listening to his heart beat while he stroked her hair inhaling her scent.

"I need to get back." She finally said in a small voice.

"Oh." Nathan said. He was too afraid to ask if by 'back' she meant back home or back to LA.

"Alright, let's go then. Tim and your dad are probably worried." Nathan said. Haley went to the bathroom while Nathan changed. Together they walked back to the Smith house. They went to make breakfast in the kitchen.

An hour or something later Peter and Tim walked in.

"Morning." Tim said. He then saw Nathan there. "What are you doing here this early?" Nathan looked at Haley. He didn't know what to tell him.

"I invited him for breakfast." She then said.

"Oh." Tim said and then looked at Haley. "What time did Brooke drop you off? I didn't even here you come in." He said. Haley looked at Tim confused.

"You came around midnight, right?" Peter asked. "Did you have fun with Brooke?" he asked while looking at Haley.

"Umh.. wha... Yeah! Brooke dropped me off around midnight, yes." She said when she understood what her dad was trying to do.

"So, what did you do?" Tim asked.

"Nothing. Just hung out." She said and turned to look at Peter. "Dad, can I talk to you for just a second?" Haley asked.

"Sure, we'll go to my study." He said and they left. Peter closed the door after they got in.

"What was that about?" Haley asked.

"I saw you go to Nathan's last night and I didn't want to worry Tim about it. So I told him you were with Brooke."

"Thanks." Haley said and didn't say anything for a while. "Why do you trust Nathan?" she suddenly asked.

"I've known the Scott's for a long time. Nathan's been Tim's best friend since we moved here and Tim saw Nathan playing ball in his court. Nathan's a good kid." He said and paused for a second. "But no, I'm not an idiot. I know about his past relationships but I believe that's not the real him."

"Even a blind person can see that he really cares about you and he would never hurt you. Partly because you're Tim's sister and he would break his arm if Nathan ever hurt you. But also because he truly cares about you."

"Thanks, dad." Haley said smiling a bit. Then her smile faded. "I actually had to talk to you about something else too."

"What is it?" he asked worried.

"I need you to book a flight to LA."

-------

"...so I played like 3 hours last night and you were right. Vice City _is_ better than San Andreas." Tim finished. Nathan laughed a little. He was happy that his friend was feeling better. Tim still had sad, tired eyes but anyone could tell he was starting to feel a bit better. One day at a time.

Haley came back right then. She had changed upstairs to jeans, flip flops and Nathan's sweatshirt that she still had. She was holding a purse.

"Tim." She said. Tim turned to look at her surprised. She hadn't really talked much the past week.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Get your passport. You, me and dad are going to LA." She said.

"What? Why? When?" Tim asked confused.

"Cause I need your help with things there." She said.

"What things?" Tim asked.

"We gotta take care of mom's business and her will. We're meeting the lawyer at 4 pm." She said.

"Already?" Tim asked. "Don't you think it's pretty soon?" he said looking at the clock on the wall that said 8 am.

"No, not really." She said and paused for a second. "Since our flight is leaving at 10. So get your ass upstairs, take a shower and get your passport. We're leaving in fifteen minutes." She said.

"What do I need with me? When are we flying back?" he asked.

"Tomorrow." She said. Tim left in a hurry. Nathan just sat on his seat and looked at Haley.

"So, are you gonna fly back with them tomorrow or...?" he asked. Haley looked down.

"I don't know. I'm 18 now which means I'm not a minor anymore. There's my mom's business, my music, the high school..." she said in a sad voice. "But then there's you and Tim and my dad... I just don't know, Nathan."

"I understand." He said in a small voice. It was breaking his heart to let her go but he had no choice.

"Nathan, I don't know what to do here." She said in a desperate voice. She had a bad feeling she was about to lose the best thing that ever happened to her but she knew she needed to leave.

"If things were different... It's just the timing... I don't know what to say..." Haley couldn't finish a sentence. Nathan just sat there not saying anything. What could he say?

"I understand." He said in small voice again.

"Nathan, I'm so sorry." She said in a heartbreaking voice.

"Haley, don't say that. You don't have anything to be sorry for. Things that shouldn't have happened, did. And now they need to be fixed. So don't worry about me, just do what you have to do." He said.

Nathan got up and went to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and put his chin on top of her head. She inhaled the scent of his shirt while hugging him fiercely. She bit her lip to stop the tears. She looked up and kissed him longingly. Nathan responded the same way. Haley tried to remember every thing about him. They way he smelt, felt, sounded. Everything. She ended the kiss and looked in his eyes while holding his face.

"Please don't cry, Haley." He whispered when he saw few tears fall down her cheek. He wiped them away with his thumb.

"I know this is pretty quick that I'm leaving like this but I'm finally starting to realize that my mom's actually dead." Haley said. "Her business meant the world to her and I owe it to her to take care of it before it's too late." She said in a quiet voice. "I need to face reality. I need to face LA."

"It's ok." He said and

"I..." she started. She felt like she needed to say those words to him, but she just couldn't. Because if she did and he said them too, she would never be able to leave. And she had to leave and take care of everything. She owed it to her mom. Also, if Nathan didn't say the words, it would break her heart so badly she doubted it would ever heal back. So she just stayed quiet.

Their quiet embrace was interrupted by the honk of a car outside. Haley looked outside and sighed. It was the cab.

She just looked at Nathan not saying anything until they were interrupted by Peter.

"Was that the tax-? Oh, did I interrupt? I'm so sorry." He said when he saw Nathan and Haley quickly separating when he came.

"No, dad. It's fine." She said with a tired voice. Nathan looked down and put his hands in his pockets. Tim also came to the kitchen.

"I'm ready." He announced. He looked between Nathan and Haley and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Ok." Haley said and looked down.

"You're not gonna pack anything?" Tim asked.

"No, I've got everything I need in LA." She said. "Almost everything." She added while looking at Nathan. Tim looked at Peter with a worried look.

"You sure, you're ready to go?" Tim asked.

"Yeah." She said and started to walk towards the front door. Tim, Nathan and Peter followed her. Peter closed the front door and made sure he had everything with him. Tim turned to look at Nathan before going inside the cab.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then." He said.

"Yeah." He said without taking her eyes of off Haley. He was standing his back towards the cab and Haley was in front of him.

"Take as long as you need." Peter whispered to Haley before going inside the cab and closing the door.

Haley just stared at Nathan. Without saying anything she flung herself on him, hugging him as hard as she could while Nathan wrapped his arms around her. Haley gave him one last kiss before letting him go and opening the cab door. She turned around one last time to look at him. She mouthed 'bye' before going inside the cab.

She tried to stare straight ahead but couldn't help but look right where Nathan was standing. She stared at him as long as she could but when the cab was too far, she just closed her eyes and let the tears fall.

---------

"Plane food sucks."

"We'll go out to eat. Don't worry, son. Is that ok with you, Haley?"

"Yeah." She mumbled. They were sitting in a cab in LA, on their way to meet the lawyer.

Since the cab had left the Smith driveway, Haley had had a feeling she was making a mistake. First the cab driver had gotten lost. Then she remembered she hadn't even said goodbye to Brooke, Peyton or anyone else. When they had finally gotten to the airport, she had found out their flight number was 815. The same as the infamous flight on 'Lost'. Then their flight had been delayed and there had been really bad turbulence. All were signs, at least in Haley's mind, that she shouldn't have left Tree Hill.

"We're here." Tim announced when the cab stopped in front of a familiar night club 'Club 16'. That's where they were meeting the lawyer. Because their flight had been delayed they had to drive straight from the airport to the meeting.

"Sorry we're late, Bill." Haley said to the lawyer who was waiting for them in front of the club.

"No problem, Miss Smith. I got your message." He said and waited for Haley to open the door to the club. They all went inside and walked through the club to the back room where Lydia's office was.

"So, any problems with the club during my mom's absence?" Haley asked formally when they were all settled in the office.

"No, Linda has been taking care of everything."

"Who's Linda?" Tim asked.

"You remember her, right? She is-, I mean she was mom's business partner." Haley said.

"Ok."

"So, why don't we get to the point?" the lawyer said and opened his brief case. He took out a huge file and opened it. "Your mom's will is very specific and there were no problems with her estate. She took good care of the club and all her paper work were done perfectly. She made my work very easy, in fact." He said in gratitude. Haley just stared at him to continue.

"Anyways, she made sure that 10 of her fortune was divided to a number of charity organizations her choice." He said, paused and put his classes on. "This is the part that concerns you. Miss James wanted all of her property and possession to be shared among her two children, Haley and Tim Smith. She also left the LA apartment and the Colorado cabin to their possession. In total there's 1,2 million dollars plus the real estate." He said.

"What?" Haley asked confused.

"Mom didn't have that much money." Tim said.

"The night club was very successful and she was able to pay back the bank loan last year. Also, she never took vacations and didn't spend much money on anything. She had a lot of savings." Bill explained.

"So, basically we get everything?" Tim asked quietly.

"Yes." The lawyer confirmed.

"What's gonna happen to her business? The night club?" Haley asked concerned. She didn't care about the money or the houses, she just wanted to make sure her mom's business wouldn't die along with her.

"When your mother made this will, you two were still minors so she named your father, Mr. Smith, as the caretaker of the business but since you both just turned 18, you are the legal owners of the business."

"We're just kids." Tim muttered.

"Your mother wished that Linda Petterson, her business partner, would stay in control of everything but you two would ultimately be the ones who make the decisions. Everything would go through you, she would just be the one to make it happen." He explained.

Haley and Tim looked at each other in shock. They had no idea she had planned on leaving everything to them.

"Is Linda happy with this arrangement?" Haley finally asked.

"Yes, she knows the situation and would like to have the position. But she won't do it if you don't want her to." Bill said.

"Really?" Tim asked. He didn't know Linda was that close to his mother.

"It doesn't surprise me." Haley said. "Linda respected mom very much. She would never step over her boundaries. I think she would be perfect to run this place." She said.

"I'll let her know." Bill said. "But remember, you still own this place so everything goes through you." He said.

"Yeah, we're aware of that." Haley said. Bill put a lot of papers in front of Haley and Tim.

"You need to sign here, here, here, here and here." Bill said. Haley and Tim signed the papers.

"I will do the rest of the paper work." Bill continued. "The state of California has to confirm everything so it will be about 4-6 months till everything is legally in your possession." Bill said.

"Ok." Tim said.

"Are we done?" Haley asked.

"Yes, I will stay in touch with you once I get any information. Where can I reach you?" he asked from Haley. She looked at him sadly. Even she didn't know yet if she was gonna stay in LA or go back to Tree Hill.

"My cell." She said and got up. She shook Bill's hand. "Thanks for everything, Bill."

"No problem. If you get any questions, just call." He said.

"We will." Tim said and shook his hand too. Peter did the same. They all got out of the club. Haley closed the door and got them a cab.

"So are we going home now?" Tim asked. Haley looked at him with raised eyebrows. She didn't know if he meant Tree Hill of LA when he said home.

"We're going to mom's." She said while giving the address to the driver. They drove there in silence. When they finally got there, Haley got out and sighed.

"Home sweet home." She muttered waiting her dad to pay the cab driver.

"You ok?" Peter asked when he got out of the cab.

"Yeah." She said. She turned to look at the huge building in front of her. "Let's do this." They started to walk towards the front door. Haley noticed the familiar door woman.

"Miss Smith!"

"Brenda." Haley smiled and hugged the woman.

"I'm so sorry about your mother." Brenda said in a quiet voice.

"Thank you." Haley said and turned to look at Tim and Peter. "You remember my brother Tim? And this is my dad, Peter." Brenda shook both of their hands.

"Nice to meet you both. I'm very sorry for your loss." She said.

"Thanks." Tim mumbled.

"We should probably get going." Haley said. "But it was good to see you, Brenda." Haley said and went inside the building. She sighed when she saw another familiar person. This time it was the receptionist.

"Hey, Thomas." Haley smiled to the 70-something year old man.

"Haley, how are you? I'm so sorry about Lydia. She will be dearly missed." He said.

"Thank you. Any mail for me?" she asked.

"You have gotten so many packages, post cards, teddies, flowers and letters that I took the liberty to deliver them to your apartment." Thomas said.

"Thanks, Thomas. That's very thoughtful." She said and introduced her brother and father before heading for the elevator. Once they got in, she pressed the familiar '26' button and waited for the elevator to get there.

The doors opened and they all got out. Haley walked straight ahead and stopped when she got to the end of the hallway. She used her key to open the door. They all got in. Haley looked in shock of all the little gifts, presents, flowers and mail she had gotten from her fans when they found out about her mother.

"Oh my god..." Tim whispered and started to go through the post cards. Haley saw the bleeping light of her answering machine. She pressed the button to listen to them.

Beep.

_"Lydia! It's Linda, I know you're not back from your trip yet but I thought I'd leave you a message anyways and let you know that everything is going great at the club. Miss you! Call me you get this."_

Beep.

_"Hales! It's Katie, call me when you get back from North Carolina. We gotta get together. I gotta tell you something but I don't wanna do it over the phone. So call me. Oh, what the hell. You ready for this? I got engaged! So, call me!"_

Beep.

_"Hales, it's Kelly. I'm so sorry for your mom. I just heard. Please call me when you get this."_

Beep.

_"Hey, it's Fergs. Just heard the news. We're so sorry. Call us if you need anything. Take care, sweetie."_

Beep.

_"Haley, it's Justin. Cam and I just hear about your mom. So sorry. If you need anything, let us know."_

Beep.

_"It's me."_ Haley froze when she heard the familiar voice of Chris Keller. _"I miss you, baby. And I know you're going through a lot because of Lydia, so call me when you realize you need me."_

Haley huffed in annoyance and deleted the message. Haley quickly listened all the messages and deleted them all. Once she was done she helped Tim and Peter to sort out the mail. After that they were too tired to go out to eat so they just ordered some pizza.

"So, what's your plan for tomorrow?" Peter asked when they were eating the pizzas in the living room while watching TV.

"I have no idea." She confessed.

"You're 18 now so I can't make any decisions for you. But honestly I don't see any reason why you should stay here." Peter said.

"Yeah, dad's right." Tim said and started to count the reasons why she should move.

"You'd be living alone. Mom's business is being taken care of and you're taking a break from the music business anyways. Then there's me and dad who want you to live with us and I'm sure Nathan wouldn't mind." he said. "Why the hell would you stay here?" he asked.

"This is my home." Haley said quietly.

"Tree Hill could be your home." Tim said.

"It's not as simple as you make it sound." She said quietly and got up to take the empty pizza boxes to the kitchen. Tim got up too and went after her.

"It_ is_ simple. You either stay or go." Tim said hurt. He couldn't believe she was actually thinking of staying in LA.

"Don't push it, Tim." Haley warned and started to wipe the counter even though it was spotless.

"Haley, you can't stay here by yourself!" Tim said annoyed.

"It's my decision, Tim!" Haley snapped.

"Why would you wanna stay here?" he asked loudly.

"Cause I wanna remember!" Haley yelled. "This is the last physical thing I have left of mom! If I move out of the apartment it's like giving myself the permission to forget about her!" she said with tears in her eyes. "Every single memory is connected to this place! I can't just let that all go!" she said sobbing quietly.

Tim looked at Haley with a sad look. He opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Haley, that's not true." He said. "Thinking that this apartment is everything you have left of her is so wrong. We have the business, 5 scrapbooks, all the memories... The apartment is nothing compared to those."

"I'm just not ready to let it go yet." Haley said quietly.

"You don't have to. We can come here as much as we want." He said.

"Huh?" she asked confused. Tim took a hold of her shoulders and looked at her in the eyes.

"What, you thought we'd sell this?" Tim asked. "Where do you think I'm gonna live when I play for the Lakers?" he asked laughing. Haley wiped her tears and laughed a little.

"I don't know..." Haley said. Tim could see that she was starting to cave in so he decided to push it.

"You could hang out with Brooke and Peyton... Go to an actual high school for once with us instead here alone... We could hang out more and dad would love to have you there too..." he paused for a second.

"You could see Nathan as much as you wanted..." Tim finally said. Haley laughed a bit.

"Yeah, 'cause it's been _so_ easy to hang out with him till now." She said sarcastically.

"That would change."

"You wouldn't be an asshole about it?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nope." He said.

"So you wouldn't yell if we started dating?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Or if we went to the Homecoming together?"

"Nope. Like I said, I'd be fine with everything."

"Everything?" she asked.

"Yep."

"You're telling me that you'd be fine if you caught us making out on my bed?" she asked grinning. Tim gulped and looked at her.

"Umh-"

"Or naked in the Jacuzzi?"

"I don't-"

"Or having sex in your bed?"

"Haley!" he finally said and covered his ears. "You're my sister. It's against the law or something for me to have to listen to this." He said horrified. "You haven't have sex with him, right?"

"Of course I haven't." She said quickly. A little bit too quickly.

"Why did you- Oh my god. You had sex with him." Tim said and started to hyperventilate.

"Tim, calm-"

"You had sex with Nathan."

"Tim, listen-"

"You had sex with my best friend!"

"Don't yell, dad's right-"

"My baby sister had sex!"

"Stop freaking out." She hissed and slapped him lightly on the cheek. "I'm a big girl." she said then softer. "What I do with my love life doesn't concern you."

"I just can't believe you've had sex at all. And with Nathan of all the people." He said. Haley looked at him with a small smile. "I mean, Nathan's the only one you've had...?" he had trouble saying the words.

"Sure, Chris and I did see each other for two years but no, of course we didn't have sex." She said sarcastically. "Because he's _such_ a gentleman." She said.

"Wait, now you're being sarcastic." He said putting the pieces together.

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Which means that you and Chris-" he then paused and looked at Haley in shock. "Eew! Eew, eew, EEW!" he yelled in disgust.

"Tim, calm dow-"

"The visual images!"

"Take a deep bre-"

"I'm scarred for life!" Haley slapped him lightly again.

"Will you get your shit together." She hissed. She didn't want her dad to know about her sex life. "Don't be such a girl." She said. Tim shut his eyes and snapped his fingers. Then he opened his eyes.

"I'm better now."

"Good."

"I'm in denial so if you mention the words 'bedroom', 'Nathan' or 'sex' in the same sentence, I'm gonna have to physically harm one of you to get rid of the visual image." He said. Haley just rolled her eyes smiling.

"So, you're coming back to Tree Hill?" Tim asked.

"I guess I am." She said smiling.

"Awesome. Dad!" he yelled through the closed kitchen door. "Haley's coming back with us!" he yelled happily.

_"I know!"_ came the answer behind the door.

"Was he eavesdropping?" Haley whispered.

"I guess so."

"Great. My dad knows about sex life. Fantastic." She said under her breath. Tim looked at Haley for a while.

"You do know that I love you, right?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, of course. And I love you." Haley said looking at him.

"I know I'm been pretty much an asshole for so long but you gotta know that I never hated you." Tim said.

"I know, Tim. And I'm sorry for being a bitch."

"You're forgiven." Tim said laughing. "I just feel like I didn't get to tell mom enough many times how much she meant to me and now she's gone." Tim said swallowing hard. "I just wanna make sure it doesn't happen with you."

"Tim, I know you love me. I always knew."

"Even when I was a total asshole?"

"Even then." Haley said and smiled a bit. "I know about the box, Tim." Haley said softly. At first Tim looked confused, then embarrassed, then angry and then amused.

"You snooping through my stuff now?" he said smirking a bit.

"I was looking for a pencil sharpener-"

"And you thought you'd find one under my bed?"

"Anyways, long story short, I can't believe you kept all of those newspaper articles, interviews and albums." Haley said smiling.

"They meant a lot to you, so they meant a lot to me."

"And you taped all the awards ceremonies, interviews, shows... everything." Haley said still amazed.

"I just didn't wanna miss anything."

"You know you're the best brother, right."

"Aww, now you're making me blush." He said joking even though his cheeks were a bit red.

"I gotta show you something." Haley said and went to get her purse. She dog through it until she found her wallet. She opened it and showed the picture on the inside to Tim. Tim laughed when he saw a picture of two young kids, a boy and a girl, swimming alone in a huge pool while having weird red dots all over their bodies.

"The infamous Caribbean cruise '92." Tim said smiling.

"We were like five or six, right." Haley said smiling.

"You got the chicken pox the second day and of course I got it right after you." Tim said smiling.

"We still swam in the pool and everything."

"The other kids just stayed away." Tim concluded. Tim gave the wallet back to her and she put it back to her purse.

"I just wanted you to know that even though I was gone, you were always with me." Haley said in a quiet voice. Tim took a step forward and hugged her.

"I love you, sis and I will always be there for you." Tim said. "So, if Nathan starts to act like an ass, just say the word and I'll kick his ass." Haley chuckled a little.

"Thanks, Timmy." Haley said while taking a step back and going to where her dad was.

"Don't call me that!" he said but she was already through the door. He followed her.

"Hey, dad." Haley said to Peter. He turned to look at her.

"Hey, honey. Glad you decided to come back with us." He said.

"Me too. I think it's the right decision." She said.

"I agree." He said. "We've got an early flight back so you should start packing." He said. Haley nodded and went to her bedroom. Tim turned to look at Peter.

"You heard our conversation?" he asked.

"You two aren't really the quietest kids around." He said with a smirk.

"So, you heard about Haley..." Tim couldn't finish the sentence.

"... having sex with two guys. Yeah, I heard."

"So, you're ok with that?" he asked.

"Like she said, she's a grown up now. If we want her to act like an adult, we have to treat her like an adult." He said.

Tim just nodded disappointed that his dad didn't forbid her of having sex or something. Now it was up to him to take care that Nathan didn't get her pregnant or hurt her in any way. He was about to go help Haley pack when his dad spoke again.

"Naturally, we're putting her on the pill.

* * *

So, how was it? I know it wasn't the best but at least it was long. :) I'll make the next one better. :) 

-Fes-

* * *


	14. Chapter 13

Hello, everyone! Thank you ALL so much for reviewing. It really makes my world. So, we're finally coming close to the end of this lil' story. This is the last chapter before the epilogue. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think about it. :)

* * *

Chapter 13

Haley, Tim and Peter spent the entire night packing most of her stuff. She left few unused clothes and unread books but other than that, she packed most of it. And being a girl and having traveled the world, she had A LOT of stuff.

"Are you sure you need this?" Tim asked holding a gorgeous golden top in the air.

"Yes! I bought that from Helsinki. It's important." She said and took it from Tim. She folded it and put it on top of the other clothes in the suitcase. "I'm not gonna be able to fit the rest of my clothes here. I need a new one."

"Honey, this is the 4th suitcase." Peter said while looking at the 4 suitcases on the floor that were filled with clothes, shoes, purses, books, etc.

"I know, dad." She said and gave him the puppy dog look.

"I've already bought you two extra ones." He said trying to resist.

"I know, dad." She said and sniffed a little.

"At 3 in the morning." He said. Haley just looked at him with those big eyes. "Fine, I'll go get a new one. But it's 6 am already. We gotta leave in two hours." He said before leaving. Tim looked at Haley and gave her another shirt.

"You want this?"

"Yeah, fold it." she said while folding a pair of jeans. They worked in silence till Peter came back with another new suitcase.

"Honey, I know this moving is a big thing for you but please promise me that I don't have to buy you a suitcase ever again." He said. Haley laughed a bit and smiled.

"I promise." She said and put the folded clothes in the suitcase with the help from Tim and her dad.

"Finished." She announced while zipping the suit case.

"You sure?" Tim asked.

"Yep." She said.

"Good, because we gotta leave soon or we'll miss the flight." He said and started to drag the suitcases towards the elevator. They loaded the suitcases in the elevator.

"I'm gonna take these to the lobby and talk to the receptionist and make sure he knows our situation." He said before the elevator doors closed. Haley and Tim walked back to the apartment to make sure she didn't forget anything important.

About 15 minutes later, Peter came back.

"You ready to go?" he asked from Haley who was sitting on her bed with Tim.

"Is the cab already here?" she asked a little bit sad.

"Yeah, it's waiting outside. But take your time." He said and left the room. Haley turned to look at Tim.

"Can you give me a minute?" she asked from Tim.

"Sure. If you need anything, I'll be outside." He said and left. Haley didn't move from her sitting position on the bed. She looked around her empty room. It used to be filled with clothes, books, pictures and energy. Now it was just another empty room filled with memories. She closed her eyes and let her memories take over.

_"Haley, honey? You here?" Lydia asked without knocking._

_"Ever heard of knocking? But yes, I'm here." Haley said smiling._

_"You got everything packed?" Lydia asked looking at the two suitcases on her floor._

_"Yes. Explain to me again why I need to leave my home and spend my very short summer break in Tree Hill, North Carolina?"_

_"Honey, I'm going to Europe for a month. I'm not leaving you here by yourself. Besides, when was the last time you saw your brother or your father?"_

_"Not long enough." She mumbled. "Look mom, I don't mind seeing dad but Tim just irritates the hell out of me."_

_"It's called sibling love."_

_"Well, love is nowhere near our relationship."_

_"They are your family." Lydia said sternly._

_"No, you are my family." Haley said pouting. Lydia went to sit next to her on the bed while putting her arm around her daughter._

_"Honey, if you really don't wanna leave, I can't make you to." She said. Haley turned to look at her with a smile. "But I'm not leaving you here by yourself. I'll cancel my flight and we'll spend the summer in the city." Haley's smile faded. Her mom had talked about that trip for over a year now._

_"Mom, you're not cancelling your trip. It means too much to you." Haley said._

_"Well, I'm not letting you stay here alone. What kind of a mother would I be?"_

_"The one that trusts her kid?" Haley asked smiling._

_"Honey, I trust you with everything." Lydia said. "But I also value your life so no, you're not staying here by yourself." Lydia said._

_"Fine, I'll go to Tree Hill." Haley said. "But you have to promise me that you will have fun in Europe." She said. "And buy me a lot of those authentic 'Mozart Kugelns' from that one cafe in Salzburg if you go there."_

_"I will." Lydia said and smiled. She had never been so proud of her daughter. "Haley, you do know that I love you, right?"_

_"Of course. And I love you too."_

_"I know I say this a lot but I couldn't have had a better daughter. You're so smart and such a good person. Don't ever forget that." She said hugging her._

_"Yeah, I won't." Haley said. "Mom, are you ok?"_

_"Yes, of course. You know I get like this every time you go somewhere."_

_"Yeah, but this time you'll get to go too." Haley said._

_"I know. How jealous are you when I call you from Saint Tropez while I'm surrounded by half naked French guys?" Lydia asked grinning._

_"Very." Haley said smiling. Lydia looked at the clock on the wall._

_"Oh, honey. You gotta go or you'll miss your plane."_

_"What a shame would that be." Haley muttered while getting up. Lydia followed her and walked her to the elevator._

_"Send my love to Tim and Peter." Lydia said while pressing the button next to the elevator doors._

_"I will."_

_"Oh, give me a hug, you big girl." Lydia said and hugged her daughter as hard as she could._

_"Mom, trying to breathe."_

_"Oh sorry. Have fun in Tree Hill."_

_"Have fun in Europe." She said while stepping in the elevator. "Love you, mom."_

_"I love you too, Haley-bub."_

_"Don't call me that!" Haley yelled laughing right when the doors closed. All she could see was her mother's laughing face._

That was the last time Haley saw her mother. Haley wiped the few tears that had formed. She sniffed a little and got up from the bed. She walked to her desk and took a framed photo on her hands.

She looked at the picture that had her and Lydia in it. They were sitting on a coach on the backstage of her mother's club after Haley had performed her first gig. She was about 14 years old and grinning like an idiot while her mother was hugging her. Haley snapped out of her memories when she heard a knock on the door.

"Hales, you ready?" Tim asked worried. "You've been here for almost 15 minutes."

"Really?" Haley asked surprised. She hadn't realized it had been that long. She set the frame back on the desk. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." She said and walked out of the room.

"Shit, I forgot my purse." She said.

"You get the elevator, I get the purse." Tim said and went to get it. He came back with the little black purse right when the doors to the elevator opened. Haley sighed and looked inside the apartment one more time before shutting the door and locking it. They both got inside the elevator.

Haley looked at the hallway remembering it was the last place where she saw her mother. When the elevator doors closed, Haley closed her eyes and sighed.

"You ok?" Tim asked.

"Yeah." She whispered while staring at the closed elevator doors.

---------

"Haley, you should try to get some sleep." Peter said. They were finally sitting in the plane on their way to North Carolina. Haley turned to look at Tim who was sitting between her and Peter. Tim had fallen asleep the minute he had sat down on the seat.

"Don't think so, dad." She said laughing while looking at Tim who was drooling and snoring loudly. Haley looked at him disgusted while wondering if she drooled when she slept. She made a mental note to ask Nathan when she saw him.

The thought of Nathan made her anxious. She hadn't called him yet to let her know she was coming back. She hadn't even called Brooke or Peyton to tell them that she had left in the first place.

She had been awake for almost 48 hours. The previous night she had spent packing and the night before that was the night she had broken down in Nathan's arms. Not to even mention that she had barely slept after her mother's death.

She could feel how tired her body was but her mind was like it had had 10 cups of coffee. She knew she couldn't sleep until she talked to Nathan.

-------------

Nathan Scott was officially pissed. It had been less than 24 hours since Haley's departure but he was already missing her. In fact, the moment the cab had left the driveway, he had missed her.

He had went to his room and sat by his phone the whole day waiting for her call. By 6 pm he was worried. What if something had happened to her? What if there had been a car accident? A plane crash? An alien abduction perhaps?

So he had surfed the net till about midnight looking for all the accidents that had happened that day between North Carolina and California.

But there were no accidents involving a Grammy-nominated singer. He didn't know whether to be relieved or pissed. Relieved because she was ok. Pissed because she hadn't called.

By 3 am he was hitting himself for being so selfish. He kept reminding himself that she had a busy day with the lawyer about the business and everything. She probably didn't have time to call him while taking care of everything.

By 6 am he was just laying on his bed missing her, still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. He couldn't sleep, eat or talk until he heard from her. He had almost called her at least 30 times already but every time he had pressed cancel before it had time to ring. He kept thinking that she would call him if she wanted.

But what if she didn't?

---------

"Home sweet home." Tim muttered when he closed the front door. They carried Haley's suitcases to her room. Haley sat down on her bed and stared at the 5 suitcases with a smile.

She then turned to look at the empty room. Though she had been only gone for 24 hours, the room seemed different. Cozier and warmer. Haley smiled when she realized that the room hadn't changed.

She had.

She could feel the tiredness starting to creep in. She looked at the clock on the wall. 11 am. She quickly got up when another wave of tiredness hit her body. She had to talk to Nathan. She left her room without unpacking or changing and headed downstairs. Tim was sitting in the kitchen eating a sandwich when Haley came in.

"Where are you going?" Tim asked when Haley headed to the door.

"To Nathan's." She said while holding the door. She looked at him and bit her lip waiting for his response.

"Tell him I said hi." He said smiling. Haley grinned and gave him a hug before going through the door. She had officially gotten his blessing.

"I'm proud of you, son." Peter said from the doorway. He had heard the conversation.

"I want her to be happy but I can't help but want to rip every guy's eyes out when they look at her." Tim said. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"No." he paused. "That makes you her brother."

There was a short silence.

"So, if he breaks her heart, I can break his neck?"

"Exactly."

-------------

_"What do you mean she left!"_

"Brooke, calm down." Nathan was sitting on his bed, talking on his cell phone with a very pissed off Brooke.

_"You calm down! I can't believe she left without saying anything!"_

"She had other things on her mind."

_"Like what?"_

"Like talking to the lawyers about her mom's business, apartment and her will."

_"Oh."_

"Look, I'm sure she'll call you as soon as she gets the chance."

_"So, she's called you already?"_

"No." he said quietly.

_"Oh. Sorry."_

"Look, Brooke. I haven't heard from her or Tim or anyone but I'll let you know when I do. Ok? Bye." He hung up the phone before she had time to respond. Nathan sighed angrily and stared at the clock on the wall.

11 am. He hadn't left his room in 24 hours. He put some angry rap music on and went back to his bed. He took a small basketball, laid down on the bed and started to throw the small ball in the air.

--------------

Haley walked through the wet grass and jumped over the small fence that separated the Smith and Scott yards. She walked to the front door and was about to knock when decided to just try the handle. It was open.

She stepped inside with a small smile. It felt like forever since she had gone through that door. She walked the familiar steps up and stopped in front of Nathan's room. The door was closed. She didn't know whether to knock or just open it. She could hear music coming from there so she knew he must have been there.

Haley took a deep breath and opened the door. The sight of a Nathan made her smile. He was laying on his bed, throwing a small basketball in the air and catching in. Then throwing it again in the air and catching. Haley just stared at him for god knows how long. The end of the song snapped her from her thoughts.

"Hey." She said after she couldn't figure out a snappy opening line. Nathan was about to catch the ball again when he heard her voice. He turned her head to look at her but forgot about the ball. It dropped on the side of his face.

"Goddammit." He muttered while getting up from the bed to take a better look at Haley who was laughing out load.

"I hope you're better on the court." She said smirking. Nathan smirked back.

"So, how was your flight?" Nathan asked smirking.

"It was good. My back's killing me for carrying all those suitcases. I never knew I had that many clothes." She said smirking. Nathan's eyes lit up and his smirk got bigger when he realized that Haley had decided Tree Hill over Los Angeles.

They stared at each other for a second before starting towards each other. Haley jumped on him and wrapped her legs around his waist in a very 'Notebook' kind of way.

Nathan held her as tight as he could against him while kissing her hungrily. Haley giggled when they fell on his bed, her on top. Haley pushed him down and started to suck his neck lightly.

"Oh, holy god." He said somewhere between moans. Haley moved from the neck to the mouth. She had missed those lips. She knew she could kiss him forever and not worry about anything.

After some more kissing, Haley gave him one more kiss before rolling on her side so she was snuggling to his chest. Nathan pulled her closer and stroked her hair. He knew she was still mourning.

Haley looked up at Nathan.

"I just need more time." She whispered.

"I know." He said holding her tightly. "I'm just really happy that you're back here."

"Me too." She said and kissed him in the lips. She looked at him in the eyes and stroked his cheek. "I love you." She whispered with a small smile while a small tear fell down her cheek.

"I love you too, baby." He said and wiped the tear away with his thumb. Haley put her head on his chest and listened to the steady heart beat.

"Don't worry, Hales. Everything will be fine." He whispered after a while. When she didn't answer he looked at her and smiled a bit when she noticed that her eyes were closed and she was breathing steadily.

Nathan pulled the blanket over them and kissed her on the top of her head before letting himself fall asleep too.

* * *

So, what do you think? I'll post the epilogue during the weekend. Until then... don't forget to review. ;)

-Fes-


	15. Epilogue

Here we go... The epilogue to my second story... I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, this chapter is dedicated to all of you. Enjoy and leave a final review. :)

* * *

Epilogue

"I love public schools!" Haley yelled happily and clapped her hands enthusiastically.

"Baby, I love you but you're nuts." Nathan said his arm wrapped around her. They were standing in front of the main doors of the Tree Hill High. It was the first day of senior year for all of them.

"I gotta agree with Nathan. Darling, you're out of your mind." Brooke said while taking her expensive designer sun glasses off of her face and looking at the boring building in front of her.

"Don't tell me you don't miss cheerleading, Brooke. I know both of you do." She said pointing at Brooke and Peyton. "And you..." she said looking at the guys. "... can't wait for the basketball season to start."

"Yeah, I guess." Jake confessed. "But it doesn't make the classes any easier." Jake said while the guys nodded their heads in agreement.

"Oh, suck it up." Peyton said laughing. "You all know that the day we graduate you're gonna miss this place."

"Yeah, so enjoy it while it lasts." Brooke said hooking arms with Haley and Peyton.

"Yeah right, Brooke." Nathan said. "I'm looking forward to the day I get the hell out of here and can play college ball." Nathan said.

"Me too." Lucas said while Tim and Jake nodded their heads.

"I don't know why you're whining." Haley said. "I'm so excited about high school that I'd stay longer if I could."

"Ok, no one's that excited." Brooke said.

"I'm sorry but it's first time for me in an actual high school so act happy for my sake, alright?" she said smiling.

"Yay, high school!" Nathan yelled while the others cheered and whistled. Haley burst out laughing.

"That's the spirit." She said laughing.

"You ready to start this school year?" Brooke asked her hand on the door handle. They were blocking the entrance and there was a line of people behind them waiting to get in.

"Yep." Nathan said his hand around Haley.

"Let's do this." Haley said grinning. Brooke opened the doors dramatically and they all walked in. Brooke, who was the student council president, had made sure that all of their lockers were on the first floor next to each other.

"This is so much fun!" Haley said enthusiastically when rolling the combination. The others looked at her like she was crazy but continued to open their lockers. Haley put her stuff in and turned to look at the rest of the group while holding her schedule.

"Who has German 5?"

"I do! I didn't know you took German too." Tim said surprised.

"Aber jawohl!" she said and winked. Tim laughed while the rest of them looked like they were idiots. Right then the first bell rang.

"What do you have?" Haley asked from Nathan.

"English."

"Oh, me too." Lucas said. "It's at C-wing so we should start heading there."

"Alright. Later, babe." Nathan said and gave Haley a kiss before leaving with Lucas. Brooke, Peyton and Jake also went their ways.

"You ready, _Schwester_?" Tim asked grinning.

"Yep, let's go." She said and linked arms with him.

---------------

"So, how was your first day of school? I didn't see you at all after the morning." Brooke said while unpacking Haley's suitcases. She, Peyton and Brooke were hanging out in her room unpacking her suitcases with the guys.

"It was good." Haley said. "Kinda weird but good."

"What do you mean by weird?" Jake asked. "Hold this side." Jake said giving a wooden piece to Nathan. The guys were trying to assemble an IKEA table with bad success while the girls unpacked her stuff.

"I can handle all the staring but I didn't except my history teacher to ask for my autograph." Haley said smiling. They all laughed at that.

"No, you gotta unscrew that."

"No, wait. You got that upside down."

"Where the hell is the screwdriver?"

"Anyways..." Brooke started after listening to the guys for a while. "You should totally try out for cheerleading." Tim laughed out loud while Brooke glared at him.

"You're kidding." Haley said laughing. Brooke didn't laugh. "You're not kidding." Haley said seriously.

"We would have so much fun!" Brooke said.

"Yeah, and so would the audience."

"Actually, I think it's a good idea." Tim said. Haley turned to look at him shocked. "It will totally mess the opponents' minds if they see you jumping up and down." Brooke smacked him behind the head.

"Actually, Tim may finally have a real reason to pick on me." Haley said. "I'm the clumsiest person alive." She said.

"Didn't you slip when you had your first live show?" Tim asked laughing.

"Yeah, at mom's club in 2001. Thanks for reminding me of that incident." Haley said.

"And didn't you almost fall down the stairs when presenting that one award in MTV Movie Awards?" Tim asked still laughing.

"There was a damn cord on the floor! It wasn't there on the rehearsal."

"Yeah, blame it on the crew. Very ashleesimpson." Tim said grinning.

"Shut up." Haley said grinning.

"Ok, so no cheerleading for you." Brooke said.

"Yeah, for once I'm just gonna concentrate on watching the show instead of being part of it."

"That's smart." Nathan said.

"This is a cool picture." Peyton said holding a framed picture of Haley, Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne.

"Yeah, it was one of those MTV Spring Breaks in Miami. We were all performing. That's where we became friends." Haley said remembering the event.

"Cute. How are you guys doing?" Brooke asked and turned to look at the guys who were arguing.

"No! You have the wrong piece!"

"It's the right piece; you just have the wrong screw!"

"Oh, screw you!"

"Guys, zip it." Brooke said.

"But, Nathan's-" Tim started.

"Zip it." Brooke said again. "Oh, let me see that." She said and snatched the instructions from Jake. Brooke looked at the instructions for few seconds, then the screws, wood pieces and the whole mess the guys had made. Without a word she changed a few screws and pieces and few minutes later the desk was completed.

"Ta da!" she said and looked at the desk with a proud smile. She then turned to see the surprised looks on the guys' faces. "What? You guys have been to my room. It's like straight from the IKEA catalogue."

------------

knock knock

"Come in!" Haley yelled through the door while holding her guitar.

"Hey, you." Nathan said and kissed the top of her head and sat down next to her.

"So, what are you doing here?" Haley asked smiling.

"What, a guy can't hang out with his girlfriend anymore?" Nathan asked faking shocked. Haley just laughed a little.

"Actually, I just talked to your brother and he said that you finally unpacked everything so I thought I'd come and check it out." He said.

"Yeah, that's fine. Can you give me a minute; I'm almost done with this." She mumbled while playing different tunes and writing down lyrics.

"Yeah, sure. Take your time." He said smiling and got up. He noticed a framed photo on her desk and took it. It was a picture of a younger Haley and Lydia sitting on a couch smiling. He set it down on the table.

Nathan turned to look at Haley who looked concentrated while furiously writing down something. Nathan was very happy that she was writing songs again.

Few minutes later Haley put the notepad and the guitar away and went to Nathan who was admiring her DVD-collection.

"So, how's the song coming?" Nathan asked when Haley came behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Good but I'm kinda stuck." She said.

"Oh. What's the song about?" he asked wanting to help her.

"It's about this girl who falls for her super hot next-door-neighbour." She said grinning. Nathan turned around and looked at her surprised.

"You're kidding." He said smiling a bit.

"Nope but don't worry, I'm not being specific enough to get it traced back to you." She said and winked.

"So, you said you were stuck?" he asked. Haley looked at her sheepishly.

"Know any words that would rhyme with 'soul mate'?" she asked shyly. Nathan looked at her surprised before giving her a big kiss on the lips.

"Wow! What was that for?" Haley asked smiling.

"Just an I-love-you kiss." He said and sat down on her bed and pulled her on his lap.

"Well, I love you too, soul mate." She said and kissed him longingly. They continued making out until Nathan suddenly stopped it.

"Colgate!"

"Huh?"

"Colgate."

"Huh!"

"Colgate rhymes with soul mate."

"Nathan, Colgate doesn't mean anything. It's a toothpaste brand."

"But it rhymes with soul mate."

"But it doesn't mean anything."

"It could mean like fresh, tasteful and cool. Kind of like you are."

"Oh, thanks, hon."

"No problem, babe."

"Colgate soul mate."

"Yeah, I know it sounds lame."

"If you really like it, I'll use it."

"You would really use Colgate in your song even if you hate it? Why?"

"Cause the song is about you anyways. You should get a say." Haley said still sitting on his lap. "But mostly because you're my boyfriend."

"And you're my Colgate Soulmate."

The End

* * *

So, any final thoughts? I know it was kinda short and cheesy but in my defence, just remember Haley's words: "We're a really cheesy couple, mister." :) I'll post an author's note later on when I think of something smarter to say. :)

-Fes-


	16. Author's Note

Wow, 3 months, 14 chapters (136 pages) and 270 reviews later we're finally here. :)

Writing _Colgate Soulmate_ was a great experience and I enjoyed it almost as much as my first story, my baby: _The Fast and the Furious_. ;) I don't really know where I got the idea for _CS_. I always wanted to write a story where Haley was already the rock star and how it would affect her and all. The whole Tim-Haley relationship is based on my relationship with my own brother so there's some art imitating life for ya. ;)

The title was not something I came up with myself. _Colgate Soulmate_ is a song by a Finnish rapper. When I was starting to write this story and hadn't come up with the title yet, I was also totally obsessed with the song so I decided to use it as the title. After listening to the song about 50 times, I still didn't know what the hell the rapper meant by 'Colgate'. I doubted he meant the tooth paste. I thought I'd figure out the meaning of Colgate by the end of the story but since I didn't, I just came up with the meaning myself. :)

To the most important issue: your reviews. If I had the time and energy I would thank everyone who reviewed personally. Your reviews were so kind and supportive; so much better than I ever expected. They were reason why I kept writing and posting. Whenever I had a bad day, I would just check my e-mail and instantly feel so much better. They're my very own Prozac. ;) Kidding… So, big thanks to everyone who reviewed.

And about the future… No, like with _The Fast and the Furious_ there will be no sequel to _Colgate Soulmate_ but I've already started to write my next Naley story. I'm gonna write few more chapters and see where it's heading before deciding if I'm gonna keep it and post it. I most likely will cause I'm really excited about it. :) I don't know the title yet but it's probably gonna have something to do with poker. Just a lil' hint for you. ;)

Anyways, please leave your final review of the story. What was good? What was bad? What would you change? Constructive criticism is always good. :)

You guys are awesome! Thanks again for ALL the reviews, they were the best. I thank you with all my heart. :)

_Kiitos_.

-Fes-


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